Monday, August 11, 2014

The post about fun in the sun and gym progress

Check out my new ride. Got an awesome 2nd hand bike yesterday.

  • The summer seems to be zipping by. Before you know it, it will be back to school time and I'll be on a plane headed to Stockholm. I booked my flight about a month ago, this past week I booked my lodging in London. London is expensive. Since I'm traveling alone, I was able to book at a student residence in central London. I'll have my own room, but share a dormitory style bathroom. Not much different than the gym:-) Much cheaper than a proper hotel which works out just fine for me. I just need a place to sleep and I'm not rich!
  • This past weekend we went to an outdoor pool in Brantford with a lazy river and splash pad. This is my 3rd summer doing the bathing suit thing and either being close to goal or at goal. The 1st summer I had reached 100 pounds lost. You'd think I'd be more confident being seen in public in a bathing suit. I know that I do not look as bad to other's as I do in my own head. I definitely still have some problem areas, but on the most part, I shouldn't complain about how I look. I still find myself hiding and covering myself. Old habits die hard. Still working on freeing my mind. 
  • I have been going to the gym for 4 weeks now. I have noticed some changes in myself already. The most noticeable have been my legs, shoulders and chest area. My legs are becoming a bit more defined. They were always muscular from running, but the muscles are more pronounced. My shoulders are also looking more muscly and I have this long bulging vein sticking out of my arm. Sorta gross if you ask me. Bat wings still intact. I'll do the gym for a full year before I look at corrective surgery. I want to wear sleeveless tops with confidence one day. And my chest area has become...perkier. who knew that working your pectoral muscles would make things less droopy?

My body parts that I like at this moment (minus the vein)...and the OMG bathing suit shot!

  • Yesterday I bought a 2nd hand bike. It's a Giant, which means nothing to me, but my hubby was super excited. I rode his the day before and it hurt me:-( This ride is nice and comfy. I'll be doing the Ride to Conquer Cancer next year with my gal Dawn and this bike will be fine for that. Other than that ride, I'm just using it for family bike rides. Julien has finally learned to ride a two wheeler so we can go out together as a family. We had our first family bike ride yesterday afternoon. It was tons of fun till Julien wiped out:-( Scraped his elbow up good. He'll be back out today though. He loves it!
  • I have two sessions left with my trainer. It's all good though. I feel much more confident at the gym and he even said that I am more sure of myself. He has taught me lots of stuff and I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to work with him. I have a good running/gym routine worked out. I run 4/5 times per week and do the gym 3x per week. I go to the gym the mornings of my running rest days and one evening where I run 1st, then do the gym. It's busy, but is working out well for me at the moment. I don't love the gym, but I don't hate it either. And I always feel great when I'm done. My body is sore, but I'm completely recovered by the next day. Much different than the way I felt when I first started. It felt like I needed to be in traction. 
  • I ran 14K yesterday. It was a good run because although my pace is still not back to where it was, I'm able to run the distance again. This was the longest run I've done since March 30th. My legs were tired yesterday but I also ran 6K up the escarpment. It was a good challenging run and I'm glad I pushed myself. Gave me some confidence back. 
  • I'm off to the gym now. It's a running rest day, but my trainer is gonna make me sweat. It's amazing how much I sweat just doing machines and floor exercises. Strength training for an hour is hard work! One more week of work and I'm off until after Labour Day. Looking forward to it because we have fun stuff planned with the boy:-)

A pic I like of myself and a miniature grape vine my realtor brought me:-)