Fit Test

Today I had a "Fit Test" at the gym. Its a service that's included with membership to tell you how fit you are. The trainer (Cory) took some measurements including: weight (134.3), resting heart rate (46 bpm) and blood pressure (96/71). Then he did some circumference measurements measuring shoulders, chest, waist, arms, legs, etc. Then he got out the FAT PINCHER! Got some fat pinch measurements on my arms flab, love handles, and leg fat. Put all those numbers in the computer and BAM! Fit score: 75. If I'd known I'd been getting a score maybe I would have studied harder. But it basically says I'm fit. I have the lowest resting heart rate he's ever seen (I just finished an hour of yoga), and my blood pressure is great. (I usually have pretty low blood pressure, except right when I'm about to give blood because I get myself all worked up). I also found out that I have a body fat of 24.2%, which is still in the fit range, and that female athletes generally have 12-22%

Then we talked about my goals: run a marathon in May, and be skinnier than my sister who is in the peak of youth and health. Cory says I should do more weight lifting, and he showed me some circuit training exercises. He asked about my diet, and it seems that my steady diet of fruit, vegetables and chocolate bars is okay. But he think I should keep track of everything I eat to make sure that I burn more calories than I consume. So I'm going to go back to using the myfitnesspal app to chart all that. And I guess I'll start to pump iron and just get totally ripped.

A post that makes me sound really healthy and fit...

This weekend I had some blissful time off. Unlike the last whole weekend I had off, my mind wasn't filled with dread, and the fear that I would be bored and lonely. I'm not as depressed as I was in the winter due to some sunshine and the positive changes in my life. I enjoys my Saturday morning yoga routine, and now that the gym offers a 9:30 class, I can go even if I have to work. Since the weather is nice (80 degrees today) I can run outside at the park and and enjoy the fresh air and the sunshine. I'm hoping to run 15 miles today! And I've given up coffee, for a little over a month now I haven't been drinking all that sugar and caffeine. The first week or so was rough, but now I feel amazing, able to wake up and get myself going without stimulants, and full of natural energy.

Yesterday after grocery shopping and yoga I enjoyed a beautiful run in the park, then went thrifting with Noel. The goodwill had a great selection on their 1/2 off books, and the ARC thrift store had a bunch of running shorts. (They were also having a big 50% off sale). Then we biked over to Liz Cheuk's apartmentment, where we considered yelling up at her window, but decided she wouldn't hear us anyway. So we called her down and we went out to dinner at Stoney's. They had the most amazing salad I've every eaten in my life! Here an excerpt from their menu: Winter Salad- Mixed Greens, Tomato, Cucumber, Pickled Red Onions, Roasted Beets, Dried Cranberries, Dried Apricots, Toasted Spiced Pumpkin Seeds, and Goat Cheese. Served With Orange Cumin Vinaigrette. Amazing! Plus- yummy fried pickles!

And in about an hour I'm going to meet Liz at the park for a Sunday morning run!

Even though I work too much

This weekend I had to work 16 hours. On Saturday and Sunday I had to work all day. On the most beautiful days since summer. Even so I went to yoga class, ran 13.1 miles on Sunday (2 hours, 23 minutes...7 minutes faster than last time), and watched movies with Noel. Wish I could have spent more time outside. I'm looking forward to having this Saturday OFF!

Acting Young

In celebration of my 25th birthday my friends congregated last night for cake and drinks. Noel was mad that I wanted to make my own cake, and so refused to eat any (until we came home from the bar at 2 a.m.) Everyone who came was in Americorps, representing classes 15, 16, 17, and 18. So we had a good time reliving our glory days, and gossiping about the current state of affairs. Then
we headed over to "The Streets of London." So we left the bar at 2 (which then turned into 3...darn Daylight Savings Time), caught a few hours of sleep. Then I woke up this morning and biked downtown for the "Running of the Green" 7k. Liz and I ran the 7k in 44:18, enjoyed some Killians Red, and biked back to Annie's diner for brunch. Then I crawled into bed and tried not to feel old and tired.

Super Powers

Today I ran just over 13 miles. A half-marathon. This astounds me, because two short years ago, I wasn't able to run more than one miles without having to stop and walk for a while. I do credit the development of this super power to Americorps NCCC. My corps member year our team did PT everyday, and if that days exertion did not involve a run, it involved a power hike at a pace my stubby little legs could barely handle. And when I was a team leader I craved my own space, my own time, and a little solitude. So in the mornings before everyone was awake I would run. And now I can say that I've hit the 13 mile mark.