another good one

yesterday was another good day. i went for an hour walk in the morning, stayed on plan all day, enjoyed TWO hours of top model, and had sushi for dinner. this is a big deal because i've always really hated sushi. i've tried it a few times and each time the outcome was not good. in fact, the last two times i've had it at a restaurant i vomited during the night.

last night i went to my boyfriend's house and we decided to get sushi. we got one vegetarian avocado roll, one chicken something roll (fried, but tiny pieces and delicious), and one order of bulgogi to share, which is a lean prime beef dish with veggies. after eating half of that i was soooo stuffed. perhaps it was the 10,000 litres of water i drank... i was just so thirsty. i must have refilled his brita filter 15 times over the course of the night. it was so hot in there, which is probably why. it made sleeping really difficult and i woke up to a nightmare about being chased by a swarm of bees!

yesterday i also made chocobran muffins mmmmmmm. forgot how delicious these are. i was at the grocery store yesterday and saw weight watchers cookies and was almost tempted to buy them when i realized how silly that was. i could make mandy's chocobrans for cheaper and they would be tastier with more substance. i ate one yesterday right away (of course) and then had another one this morning crumbled into my oatmeal... chocolatey and delicious.

this morning i walked home from which was about 2.5 miles. not too bad. i might go swimming if the pool has cooled down. i emailed the building manager and he was playing up the situation like it had just happened last weekend, but the pool has been getting hotter and hotter all summer.

here is my planned menu for today so far:

source yogurt with sprinkle special k yogurt something (2)
2/19

walk home (-2)
0/19

oats (3)
chocobran (1)
1/2 banana (1)
coffee (0)
5/19

2 slices ww bread (1)
1/4 cup egg whites (0.5)
1 slice ff cheese (0.5)
7/19

1 cup grapes (1)
yogurt (2)
10/19

that's all i know so far.

only tuesday?

ack, it's only tuesday. last night after work i was going to head down to the gym but then i thought the skies were clearing up so i planned a new running route through high park. so off i go, and it begins rain rain raining on my head, but i keep going. sometimes running in the rain is hardcore, other times it is crazy. this might have been a crazy time. so i make it to the park, and am run run running, and enjoying the nature, and it sort of stops raining, and smells great by the way, so i'm having a good time. until i reach this massive hill. there were a lot of runners on this hill running it up... i guess it's a good workout spot. so i make it up the hill and feel great about myself and keep going. then there is this big hill going down! running downhill is not my idea of fun... it's too hard on the knees. but i make it down and then... an even bigger hill going up. people, this hill was so steep that if i stood up straight i would have fallen backwards, arms flailing whoaoaoaoaoaoa! (like that.) but i made it up. from start to finish, i was gone for an hour and 45 minutes, burned 630 calories, and ran almost 8 miles. that is a lot! i was soooooo tired by the end.

my boyfriend had to stay at work late so he stayed over and brought us burritos. i figured since i burned so many calories i could pretty much eat whatever i wanted. i was just saying the other day that we never eat burritos together (and i never eat them alone haha) so he wanted to try them out. i wasn't that impressed. anyway i think it was poisoned because after eating it i passed out on the couch and had to be dragged to bed.

so the summer challenge is over. i wanted to run 15 miles per week and try a new vegetable each week as well. a few weeks in i realized that trying a new vegetable each week was not my idea of fun, so i switched it up to a new food. here are the results of my weeks:

week 1 food: bok choy
week 1 running: 15/15 miles
week 2 food: eggplant
week 2 running: 15/15
week 3 food: red lentils
week 3 running: 19/15
week 4 food: quinoa
week 4 running: 19/15
week 5 food: wheatberries
week 5 running: 19/15
week 6 food: homemade pad thai
week 6 running: 21/15
week 7 food: nutritional yeast
week 7 running: 25.5/15
week 8 food: protein powder
week 8 running: 19/15

overall i am mostly impressed with the running. at the beginning of the challenge, it was difficult to run 15 miles per week, but as you can see, as the weeks passed, it became easier and easier. overall i ran a total of 152.5 miles and averaged 19 miles per week. it is about 100 miles from toronto to buffalo, new york, so i could have run there and halfway back. :o)

in other news, this morning i did 30 minutes of running on the treadmill in 15, 10, and 5 minute segments, as well as some arm weights. there was this girl who took the only set of 5-pound dumbbells on the treadmill while she walked, which annoyed me a little. most of the time she would rest the bells (still holding on to them) on the handlebar! seriously.... a) walking with weights in your hands is not good for you and b) gym equipment hog! oink oink oink!

tonight is my book club and i haven't finished the book yet. i will try to get as much done as i can at lunch and after work. we are reading "water for elephants" by sarah gruen and it's awesome. it's about the circus!

yawny mcyawn

why do i do this to myself every weekend? i stay up way too late and don't sleep enough and suffer the consequences in a major way on monday. i feel like a dead person today... zombie-rific! i did have a good weekend though. friday dancing, saturday running and more dancing, sunday parental visiting. my boyfriend and i signed up for an introductory package of dance lessons. on saturday we learned more swing (fun), the foxtrot (fun), and the waltz (boring).

i think i'm going to get one of those heart rate monitor watches. my first opinion was that they are unnecessary and sort of silly, but i find myself thinking about them a lot and looking up prices on ebay and froogle, etc. it would be really neat to know if i'm reaching my target heart rate and find out how many calories i'm burning. i wonder if you can wear it all day to find out how many calories you burn in just a normal day, without exercise. does anyone know if this is possible? what is your opinion about heart rate monitor watches? i'm leaning toward the polar f4 if anyone is wondering. it's about $100 including shipping on ebay. maybe that's a lot... i don't know.

in other news, i went running this morning. i didn't really want to but i sure as hell know that i won't feel like going tonight. ;o) and it wasn't so bad... it felt great to have done it (4 miles). i might do some strength training in the gym downstairs tonight but that's a big maybe.

my nice boyfriend bought me two larabars, one banana something flavoured and a cocoa one, too. i tried the banana one and it was really tasty, but really little for 210 calories. it's only banana, prunes (i think) and almonds mashed together. that's it - not one other ingredient which is pretty amazing. however, i think a) the price ($2.99 each) and b) the size (too small... i like some volume) outweigh the taste and nutritional value for me. i am still excited to eat the chocolately one though. :)

today i'm eating:

1/2 larabar (2)
almonds (1)
(3)

oatmeal with flax (3)
slivered almonds (1)
(7)

yogurt (1)
clementine (0.5)
(8.5)

yogurt (2)
more oatmeal (2)
(12.5)

grapes (1)
yogurt (1)
(14.5)

dinner? veggie burger with peas maybe.