Adventures in Exercise

I have a secret that I think it's time I shared with you.

A few months ago, in a fit of optimism (and perhaps temporary insanity?), I signed up for a race in early May. A couple of my friends were signing up, and I thought it would give me some motivation to get back to running. There's only one catch - it's a 10K race.

I have been running on and off since then, but I'm definitely nowhere near where I should be at this point. I have about 8 weeks left, and I've been thinking about switching to the 5K race instead (which I'm also nowhere near ready for, fyi).

Anyway, last week I was Skyping with my friend Eszter, and happened to mention my dilemma. Now, Eszter is a personal trainer and runs her own fitness business in Halifax (Sculptura Women's Fitness). She had lots of suggestions and set me up with a training plan to try and get me ready for the 10K. It involves interval training on the treadmill, lifting heavy weights, and a kettlebell. Scary stuff.

I couldn't let Eszter down, so on Wednesday morning I ventured into the weights area of my gym (which was much more crowded than it should have been at 7 am). Thankfully, it was made less intimidating by the fact that I went with my new gym buddy, a male colleague who was willing to show me the ropes. Thursday I attempted the intervals on the treadmill, and yesterday I was back in the weight room - alone. I had been told that Saturday mornings at the gym would be empty, because everyone is hungover (I work out at a university gym). Unfortunately, it was still crowded, but I braved the weights and got through it just fine. :)

In other news, I bought a foam roller! A foam roller is a tube of dense foam that is supposed to have the effect of a massage when you roll your muscles over it. I must admit, I felt pretty foolish rolling around my apartment on this thing. I'm not sure yet how I feel about it, but at the very least, I think I'm building some upper body strength trying to hold myself up with my arms while rolling my legs on it! Here's a video of some foam roller exercises so you can picture how silly I look doing it.

Well, I'm off for an outdoor run! Wish me luck!

What next?

I've been thinking a lot about starting a new challengey-type-thingy on here. The truth is, when I declare on this blog that I'm going to eat a certain way for x amount of time and post my food, I do it. (Unfortunately, I never seem to keep up the momentum after the challenge is over...)

Anyway, while trying to come up with what my new challenge might be, I remembered a book that's been gathering dust on my shelf: The Beck Diet Solution. The Beck Diet Solution takes you day-by-day through various cognitive behavioural strategies and activities to "train your brain to think like a thin person." I have started the program before, but never stuck to it past about Day 2. I  really like a lot of the ideas in the book and I've always intended to actually get through the entire thing one of these days... so, I'm starting it again! Today! I don't think it would be very interesting if I posted my daily task every single day, so I'll aim for a weekly recap. :)

I'm still struggling SO MUCH with my eating. I will buy tons of healthy food and even cook a few meals, but then I end up buying most of my meals out (which I can't really afford financially, let alone healthwise)! If I just prepared all my own food, I would feel much better. So, starting today, I am going to stick to eating my own healthy food. Hopefully the Beck Diet Solution will help with my willpower (or lack thereof).

See you soon with a Beck Diet Solution update!