Posted onApril 11, 2014|Comments Off on I’ve Got Some Follow Through (or I Said I’d Do It So I Did)
Yesterday, I mentioned that I needed to start scheduling things to do after my work day so I would get out of my house. I also mentioned that I needed to get back to SoulCycle.
Want to take a wild guess what my after work thing was yesterday evening?
Yup, I went to an after work spin class.
I’ve actually never taking a spin class after working. I’ve done one in the middle of a split shift once. But other than that, every spin class I’ve gone to was either before work or on a non-work day. And I’ll say, an early evening class is very different from a morning class.
I had to be pretty careful with how I ate during the day. I wanted to have enough energy for class, but I don’t like to work out if I feel full. I thought that I had planned a decent meal day for me, but I learned that I need to eat something a little closer to class time. Yesterday, I had a serving of chocolate milk about 90 minutes before class. That’s what I normally have before going to a morning class as well. But I was starving during the class.
None of the instructors that I usually go to teach at the studio during the times I was looking (I went to a 5:30pm class), so I had to try someone new. This instructor’s name was David, and it really was a great class.
It was super hard, but I’m wondering if part of that was my crazy hunger and my hip pain. I did managed to stand up on the bike for about 90 seconds during a hill section, but besides that I stayed seated for the class. I did also do all the arm work with 2 pound weights. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but trust me, they get heavy! I started with 1 pound weights and doubling the weight has made things tougher (but I think I’m getting stronger too).
The best thing about SoulCycle for me is since it’s only 45 minutes, time seems to fly by (and I’m aware that if you hate working out that sounds crazy but it’s true). And I got a pretty good calorie burn for my workout as well.
I have a bunch of stuff going on this weekend (including returning to my old job) so I’m not too sure if I’ll make it to spin class this weekend. If I do, it will be another odd time for me. I like my usual Saturday afternoon class with Heather, but this Saturday I’m working during that time.
But at least I have another instructor that I’m comfortable with and if I’m not working evenings back at my old job, I can probably fit this class in more regularly.
Posted onApril 9, 2014|Comments Off on More Hip Problems (or Thinking Out Of Order)
After my 5K, my right hip was pretty wrecked. I could barely walk, and when I did my hip kept locking and I couldn’t put my right foot flat on the ground (I was walking on the outside edge of my foot).
This terrified me. I was taking all my usual painkillers, but by Sunday things had just gotten worse. I could only walk if I was balancing against a wall and not putting much weight on my right side.
All this time, I assumed that the next part of my journey with my hip issues would be to have the surgery on my left hip that has already been done on my right. And then the steps after that would eventually be hip replacements. That’s pretty much the order that things were explained to me. In fact, my surgeon didn’t think I would make it 5 years after my first surgery before I needed the surgery on my left side (this was almost 8 years ago).
So for forever, I’ve been cautious about how my left hip felt. I got nervous with any pain and if things just didn’t feel right.
I never thought that maybe the next step in my surgeries would be on my right side again.
I talked to my parents about it and we all thought that I should wait to see if the pain went away on its own. It’s now Tuesday as I type this and while the pain isn’t gone, it has gotten better. I’m not rushing to make an appointment with my surgeon just yet, but I’m thinking differently now.
I have another 5K coming up this month and I’ll see how I feel after it. Maybe it was just this one 5K with the long time standing still and the elevation changes that made me hurt so bad. Maybe it was because I wasn’t prepared for the hills (like I am with the weSPARK 5K).
It has just thrown me since for so long, I’ve tried to ignore any pain I feel on my right side. I’ve almost considered having some pain normal now. I know that things aren’t exactly how they should be in my body and to me, expecting pain doesn’t seem weird. But now I’m going to pay way more attention to all those twinges of pain.
They could be a sign that I might need my next surgery on my right hip sooner than I hoped (I really didn’t want to have to have a hip replacement before I turn 40 and that’s kind of what my surgeon said to me as well). There’s not much I can do to prevent all of this. I just have to accept it as it is (which I have done) and know what’s best for my body.
Now I’m glad I didn’t make a goal of a certain number of 5Ks for this year so I can focus on low or no impact workouts (like spinning).
Posted onApril 7, 2014|Comments Off on Hollywood Half 5K (or Not Starting Off My 2014 5Ks In The Best Way)
My first 5K of the year was this past Saturday. I had been looking forward to this for a while, but it ended up not being so great.
It started out on Thursday when I went to go pick up my bib number. I didn’t get my number for last year’s race because my friend Kate was doing the 5K as well and got both of our packets for us. So I didn’t know quite what to expect at the expo. Well, it was crazy! It took me about an hour to find parking, and once I got inside, there were so many vendor booths. I’m used to just going to a place where you pick up your number and that’s pretty much all that’s there. But this place had a ton of people inside and so many things for sale. I tried to get my number and shirt quickly and head out (I had parked at a meter and didn’t pay for a lot of time). Of course, as soon as I got back in my car, I had to get a selfie with my race number.
On Friday night, I tried to go to bed early and I set multiple alarms to make sure I would get up in time.
Fortunately, I woke up about 2 minutes before the first alarm, so that was pretty awesome. I hate waking up to the jarring sound of an alarm clock! I had a little bit of chocolate milk before leaving (I found that that’s easy enough on my stomach and I need to have a little something so I could take my painkillers) and I headed out the door.
Getting to the recommended parking lot wasn’t so great. They actually ended up blocking off the street right before you could turn into the lot. But I followed some other cars, made a couple of legally questionable u-turns, and was finally able to make it into the parking lot (I have no idea why they told us to park there if you couldn’t legally drive into the lot).
I got to the start line at about 5am. The race was set to start at 6 and it was very clear on the website that nobody was allowed to start after 6:15 so I wanted to make sure I was there nice and early.
I hung out around the start line for a bit.
And then I saw a friend of mine (who is also a blogger) who was going to be a course angel for the 1/2 marathon.
As a course angel, she raced to mile 9 and they stayed there and cheered on all the runners as they passed her. Then, after the last runner went by, she continued running her race.
After chatting with my friend for a minute, I realized that it was 5:40 and I should head back to my corral. I somehow moved up a couple of corrals compared to last year, but since I figured there might be runners behind me, I made sure I was on the very side (so I would be out of the way).
6am came, and nothing seemed to happen. For the next 20 minutes, my corral never moved forward. We had no idea if the race had even started. All that standing around was starting to hurt me, but I tried not to focus on that.
Finally, we started to move up. At 6:30am, we still hadn’t started yet.
That was my best attempt of getting a picture of my watch (saying 6:29) and showing how far away we still were from the start line. We finally started around 6:35am and as soon as we got going, I realized that the course had been changed.
Last year the course was out and back (although the start and finish line were not in the same place). According to the website a few days before the race, that’s exactly what the race was supposed to be this year.
But as soon as we started, we turned a corner and walked down a side street (it was a slight downhill incline so we had to do the uphill to go back to Hollywood Blvd.). We ended up doing a couple of those side streets and all of them had at least a little elevation.
I was definitely not happy about this. Right when I started, my right hip (the one that has already had one surgery on it) started to hurt. The elevation changes did not help at all. But I pushed through. It was not a pretty race for me at all. I did enjoy some of the cool costumes, though. This one was the absolute best.
I crossed the finish line in 1:03.36. That’s about 6 minutes slower than what I was doing toward the end of last year. While I was happy that I finished, I was pretty pissed that I was over the 1 hour mark again.
But I was very happy to get my medal and loved that it was a new color this year.
After the race, I took the subway back to the start line (so I could get my car) and starting chatting with a few of the other racers. A bunch of people were unhappy about the side streets and their elevation changes. And people thought the race seemed long this year.
I went home and looked to see if the new course had been put on the website, and it had through Map My Run.
This is almost what we did (except it’s missing 1 of the side streets we had to walk up and back on ). Even with it missing the street, it’s still longer than a 5K. With that missing street added on, I bet it was closer to 3.3 miles. That would help to explain my longer time.
While it wasn’t my best race, I still did it. I’m not doing as many 5Ks this year, so I’m being pretty selective about which races I sign up for. Right now, I’m unsure if I’ll do this one again next year. I’ll probably end up signing up for it because it is a fun event and people there are pretty nice.
Posted onApril 1, 2014|Comments Off on Gaining Confidence (or How Spin And My New Job Are Going Along The Same Path)
Things are continuing to go well with the new job. I’m getting more and more work done each day and my work continues to get better. I’m getting more information from each lawyer that I’m speaking to and I’m getting more comfortable talking to them as well.
I’m super excited about this progress. I’m not where I need to be yet, but my boss is extremely happy about how much better I’m getting each day. On our phone call at the end of my shift yesterday, he even told me that I earned my first bonus. I get a bonus if a person I talk to meets the qualifications for the job I’m searching for. I have to get each piece of information to confirm that. And yesterday, I did it! This doesn’t mean the person is going to interview for the job opening. But I found a perfect candidate. In the future, my bonus might be something more like a percentage of the salary if we get someone in a new job. But since that can take up to a year, right now I just get a little bonus for each exact candidate I find. The amount of the bonus hasn’t been decided on yet (I don’t think my boss expected me to earn one already), but it will be something similar to an extra hour of pay.
While I’m making good progress at work, I’m also making good progress in spin class. You may remember that I just tried doing some of the standing on the bike work recently and discovered that I could do it for a portion of a song. I’m still building on that progress, but I took another big step this past weekend.
Not only did I stand on the bike during the hill portion (like I did the past time), I did it multiple times in class and was able to do several of the dance moves on the bike. Even the instructor, Heather, seemed to notice that I was doing more standing than I had before.
The best part about that particular class was in the morning, I didn’t feel like working out (I slept really badly and was dealing with weird hip pain). But since it was too late to cancel the class without being charged for it, I went anyway. And it ended up being such a great thing for me.
I also burned a lot of calories in 45 minutes.
All this good stuff happening to me is really helping me stay more positive and keep looking forward to more progress in my life. The next step is to go back to my old work and work in the box office. That will be on the same days that I do my recruiting work. I’ll just do one in the morning and one in the afternoon/evening.
But that hustle will get me to a point where I’m making enough to pay all my bills again. And I need that because my taxes were just done and I owe a little bit!
Guess I’m back to the grind in more ways than one.
Posted onMarch 17, 2014|Comments Off on Baby Steps Progress (or Surprising Myself)
I don’t feel like I’ve made a ton of progress in spin class lately. I’m still sitting down for the entire class. I had previously discussed trying to stand up (or ride out of the saddle) with my hip surgeon, and his advice was simple. If it hurts after the workout, that’s good. If it hurts while I’m doing the workout, that’s bad.
And since day 1, it has hurt whenever I tried to ride out of the saddle in class. Every so often, I’ll try to ride out of the saddle to see if somehow it doesn’t hurt (at least in the bad way). And it never seems to be only good pain.
This past Saturday I went to Heather’s class (I love that since I’m not at my old job anymore I can go to her lunchtime class on Saturday!). It was a great class and I was sweating like crazy. It was exactly what I needed.
In the past, I’ve always tried to ride out of the saddle when there is very little resistance on the bike. I’m not sure why, but that’s always what I’ve done. And every time I’ve tried, I can stay up for a couple of seconds before I feel the bad pain (which is basically my hip locking up and feeling like the bones are grinding).
But this past Saturday, I decided to try riding out of the saddle while we were in the hill portion of class. This meant that there was a lot of resistance on the wheel and that we were not pedaling as fast.
And I was actually able to stay up for about half a song! It was tough, but it didn’t start hurting until about half way through the hill section. I was able to stay up and even do some of the moves (we were sitting down for 2 counts and then standing up for 2 counts).
After half of the song, the bad pain started again, so I sat down. But this was still the most that I’ve ridden out of the saddle for any spin class I’ve taken!
It’s tough to be super excited over this since I only rode out of the saddle for about 90 seconds and a majority of the 45 minute class is supposed to be out of the saddle, but I’m trying to be happy. Maybe the next class I take I can ride out of the saddle for a majority of the hill section. And one day, I’ll be able to ride out of the saddle for 45 seconds when there is no resistance on the bike.
These are baby steps. And they will take a while to add up to what seems like progress. But I’m trying to stay optimistic that this will snowball into faster and faster progress and one day I will look back at the time that I had to sit down for an entire spin class as something in the past.
Posted onMarch 11, 2014|Comments Off on Fake Inspiration (or I’m Not A Beginner)
I have lots of websites that I read every day. One of those is Jezebel. I think they’ve got some interesting stories and even if I don’t always agree with their opinion, the articles are different from what I read on other sites.
Yesterday on Jezebel, I saw an article about a post that someone had written on Facebook congratulating an overweight person for running. The entire article is here, but I’ll give you a quick summary. Basically, the person was saying that it must be so hard to run when you are carrying double the weight of the average person and how great it is that they aren’t giving up. That was weird to read.
But what got to me was the updated version of the article where someone had written a response. I don’t think the response was written by the actually person that the Facebook post was talking about, but they get the point.
The response is saying that they shouldn’t be congratulating the overweight person for trying. They are a runner, just like anyone else. And that nobody has any idea of the journey that the person has gone through so far and what part of the journey that they are currently on.
I totally get this. I’ve written about something similar that has happened to me at SoulCycle. And I still feel like people look at me there as someone who is new, not someone who has been there for over a year.
I’ve also had similar things happen to me at various 5Ks that I’ve done. I remember when I did the Hard Rock one, there was someone at the finish line who came up to me to say that they thought I was very brave for doing a 5K and being able to finish. When I told them that that was my 7th 5K for the year, they were in shock and didn’t really say anything to me afterwards.
Same thing happened at the Christmas Run. Someone who was walking back as I was trying to cross the finish line stopped to give me a high-five. Normally, that would be awesome. But then they said that I should be so proud that I’m going to be able to say that I’m finally a finisher.
I had said that I was a finisher in 8 other 5Ks in 2013 before that one. And about half a dozen other 5Ks that I’ve done other years.
It’s really annoying. I know that people mean well and think that they are encouraging me, but it’s really condescending. They are obviously judging me by my appearance and thinking that I’m a beginner.
If people just want to congratulate me on finishing or encourage me to keep going, that’s fine. But you don’t have to add something about me doing this for the first time.
Because my wall makes it very clear that I am a 5K racer. No matter what I look like. I am a finisher and there’s no denying that.
Posted onMarch 7, 2014|Comments Off on 5K Update (or Why It’s Not A Goal For This Year)
I had a friend ask me recently when my next 5K would be. They had read about all the 5Ks I had done last year and wondered if I was going to set a new 5K goal for 2014.
Before this year started, I had signed up for 2 5Ks. I signed up for the Hollywood Half 5K again because I had a great time at that race last year. I also had signed up for the Bad Prom 5K because it was cheap when you did it super early.
Yesterday, I got an email that the Bad Prom 5K was cancelled, so I’ll be getting a refund for that race. So as of right now, I’m only doing 1 5K. I’m thinking about doing the Hard Rock 5K again (if they have it again), the Universal Studios one for the 4th time, and the Culver City one since it’s in my neighborhood. And I’m thinking about also maybe doing the Christmas one again (but I really hope that it wouldn’t rain again).
If I end up doing all of those, I’ll do 5 this year. I think that’s pretty awesome, but I’m not going to hold myself to that. If I can’t do one, I’m not going to beat myself up over it.
While I do enjoy doing the 5Ks, I’ve realized that they are not my favorite thing. I will always do some of them, but I don’t feel the need to push myself to do more. If there’s a race that I feel passionate about the cause or it sounds super fun, I’ll do it. But I don’t want to force myself to do them anymore.
When I had set my goal for 2013, walking and doing those 5Ks were a majority of the exercise I got. But since I’ve discovered SoulCycle I’ve found that I love doing that workout. So 5Ks have faded a bit into the background for me.
Also, those races are expensive. Each one is about $30-40. I do dream of doing the Disneyland 5K one day, and that one is even more expensive. So I’m choosing to be more selective in order to do that.
As of right now, my first race is about a month away. I haven’t trained for it as much as I did last year, so I’m a little nervous about it. I’m going to get a ton of walking in soon when I go to New York with my sister-in-law. Hopefully that will help. And I’m going to start training for it in my neighborhood as well (somehow, this next race has kind of snuck up on me).
And of course, as soon as I do my races, I’ll post my photos and stories on here! But don’t be surprised if I don’t have as many stories to share this year as I did last year.
Posted onFebruary 19, 2014|Comments Off on Trying A New Spin (or Knowing When A Place Does Feel Like Home)
On my last day at my parents’ house, my dad and I decided to go to a spin class. We actually wanted to try a spin class when I was home at Christmas, but other things ended up happening.
The spin class was at the Courtside Club, the gym that my parents have belonged to for forever. And I do mean forever. My mom has been a member there for 34 years and my dad joined when he and my mom were dating. In fact, their wedding reception was held at the Club (back then it was more of a hotel and tennis club than a gym).
While home at Christmas, my dad and I did a little investigating into the spin classes. We found out that most classes were an hour (compared to 45 minutes at SoulCycle) and that the bikes had both clips and cages so you could either wear bike shoes or sneakers. My dad had found out between my trips home that the clips for spin class were different than what I have on my fancy bike shoes, so I had to use the cages and my sneakers.
When my dad and I got to the class, we managed to find bikes off to the side (almost in a similar place to where I ride at SoulCycle). I tried to set up my bike on my own based on the guidelines that I’ve learned at SoulCycle, but my dad still called the instructor over to help us. He was actually pretty impressed with how well I set up my bike. The instructor (whose name I can’t remember, sorry!) was very friendly and asked if my dad and I had ever been to spin before. We both said that we had, just not at Courtside. He told us to take things at our own pace and to try our best.
Right before the class started, the instructor announced that I was joining the class for the first time and everyone gave me a round of applause (I have no idea why my dad wasn’t acknowledged too). Then the class started.
It was totally different to what I’m used to. There was a little computer on each bike and you were supposed to get to a certain RPM at different points in the class. I’m not used to that at all. At SoulCycle, we ride to the beat. That’s what I’ve focused on. The RPMs weren’t too hard, but I still found myself riding to the beat even though it was the wrong speed.
There were also some technical difficulties with the stereo and microphone so I know that the instructor was a bit flustered and the class was affected a bit by that. But I survived the class.
Even though I had an ok time (if I do that class next time I’m visiting my parents, I’m buying the proper clips because using the cages sucked), I still got in a good workout. And it has reassured me once again that being at SoulCycle is the place for me and that that is the perfect workout for what I’m looking for.
Posted onFebruary 10, 2014|Comments Off on Finally Spinning Again (or It’s Been A Long Time To Be Sick)
That nasty cold that I had right before the end of my job did quite a number on me. I haven’t felt sick in a while, but I’ve been horribly congested. So congested that until a few days ago, I still couldn’t completely breathe through my nose.
And I know that if I can’t breathe through my nose, there’s no way I can do a crazy workout. So I’ve been taking a break from spinning (which sucked).
But finally, at the end of last week, my nose cleared up. So I looked at the schedule at who was teaching over the next few days. Now that I don’t have my job anymore, I can go to classes when I used to work.
And I found out that Heather was teaching on Saturday around noon. And my favorite bike (pretty much the only one I like to ride on) was available. So of course I signed up and got ready for my return to spin.
I wasn’t too nervous because I knew that I wasn’t going to do as well as I did 3 weeks ago before I was sick. But I was going back and that’s what’s important to me. I also made myself get the heavier weights for the arms workout.
The class went pretty well. When Heather saw me in class, she got pretty excited that I was there. And she gave lots of encouragement to me throughout the class (I’m so grateful that she knows how to push me even though I still am unable to do the standing up moves on the bike).
While I did get more tired than usual in class, I finished and worked hard, and I’m proud of myself for not getting frustrated giving up when it got tough for me.
While leaving the studio, I noticed some of the new cute tops that they had for sale. And one top in particular caught my eye.
I’ve never purchased anything from SoulCycle in the past because I figured nothing was in my size. The largest size they have is a large, and I don’t wear large shirts (in straight size clothing, like Old Navy, I’m wearing either a XXL or XL top). But I decided to try it anyway.
And guess what? It fits!
Of course, I bought it. It’s a nice comfortable sweater. It’s designed to be pretty high cut (almost a crop top) in front so I’m definitely wearing a tank top underneath. But now I can go out and about sharing my love for SoulCycle with the world.
Posted onFebruary 6, 2014|Comments Off on Biggest Loser Finale (or I Wish I Didn’t Have To Write About This)
On Tuesday evening, the finale for the most recent season of “The Biggest Loser” aired. This is the season that had the contestants that I saw at my birthday spin class. I’ve already written about how the show is a guilty pleasure of mine and that I have issues with how weight loss is shown on the show. But now I feel like I need to write about the reactions to the finale.
In case you aren’t too familiar with the show, the finale is a live event (or at least live for the east coast). Everyone who was eliminated prior to the finale weighs in for the at-home prize. The contestant with the highest percentage of weight loss wins. Then the finalists come out and the finalist with the highest percentage of weight loss wins $250,000.
When the finalists came out, the two men who were finalists looked a little thin, but that’s to be expected when they try to be at their lowest weight to win. Then the girl finalist, Rachel, came out. And you could hear gasps coming from the audience.
I thought she looked pretty thin. Her legs were muscular, but her arms and face seemed very very skinny. When she weighed in, her weight was 105 pounds (she’s 5’4″). She lost about 60% of her body weight in about 8 months.
Immediately people were posting various sites online that Rachel must be anorexic now. People seemed shocked by her appearance. And two of the trainers on the show looked pretty surprised in the live show and later released a statement that they would not comment on her weight since they weren’t her trainers during the show.
It seems like people are finally seeing some of the problems that I’ve noticed with “The Biggest Loser” years ago. When you reward people for the highest percentage of weight loss, people do drastic things to make sure they win in the finale. Historically, the contestants gain weight back after the finale because they are extremely dehydrated (to make sure there is no water weight causing them to lose the weigh in). Many contestants gain back a lot of the weight they lost because the show is not realistic. And when you lose weight with a finish line in mind, you aren’t looking at it as a lifestyle but a temporary situation.
I know that last one for sure. When I did the RFO diet the first time, it was in preparation for my hip surgery. I knew that the less I weighed, the easier my recovery would be from surgery. And since I was about 90 pounds lighter going into surgery, I did have a very easy recovery. But after surgery, I didn’t have the same motivation any more to lose weight. And I gained a lot of it back. I did the RFO diet again, but again looked at it as a temporary situation (you have to when you aren’t eating any real food). And I gained it back again.
The other thing that makes me pretty mad at “The Biggest Loser” is the fact that many, if not all, of the contestants are at high risk for starting anorexic or bulimic behaviors. It’s a pretty safe guess that most of the contestants are going in to the show with an eating disorder. Probably the same eating disorder that I have, a binge eating disorder. When I was in therapy for my eating disorder, the biggest thing that I remembered is that I will always be at a high risk for another eating disorder because I have a history of having one. I’m also at high risk for another addiction of any type.
When you take away the food from a food addict (which is similar to a binge eater), they have to find their addiction somewhere else. You can see this a lot in people who have had weight loss surgery. When you can’t turn to your comfort item, you find something else that gives you comfort. And if it isn’t comfort that you are seeking, it’s order or control. And anorexia or bulimia gives you a sense of control (even if it’s a false sense).
I’m sorry for the rant, but I’ve been holding this in for a while when watching “The Biggest Loser”. And it seems like many people are now seeing things the same way that I do. I don’t know if they will change “The Biggest Loser” now due to all this backlash, but personally I would love to see them focus on body fat percentage instead of weight. Or maybe on inches lost. But sadly, seeing someone drop 155 pounds still makes good tv.
But at least now, some people will think about it a bit differently.
The Tale Of Two Fitness Studios (or Knowing Where Your Home Is)
