gwennefarrell

I have to admit, I love Halloween. Yes I get it is an extremely commercialized day but it is so much fun. Today when I was out for my first walk, I was walking by a local high school and I was surprised at how many of the older kids I saw wearing costumes. Of course we live near an elementary school and lots of the younger ones were in amazing costumes. How can you have a bad day when the dressed up adorable kids are all around you.

Now I love handing out candy on Halloween. For a number of years while I was working it was always hit or miss as to whether I would be home or not to get to have this fun. Since I retired (sort of) I am always around to do this task. And, because we get 100+ kids it means numerous trips up and down the stairs which always helps with the calorie burn. I do admit it was much easier when we lived in a rancher with no steps and a good Halloween was 12 kids coming by.

What I really love is seeing the younger kids in their costumes who are just in awe that they get candy. While I try to be equitable in the amount of candy I give each kid I acknowledge that if you look under 5 and are shy, I’m probably giving you a bit extra. Sometimes I let the young ones reach into the bucket of candy themselves and if I don’t think they have taken enough I make sure to load them up with more candy.

While I know Halloween is for kids, it is still so much fun for me. I can’t wait for that doorbell to start ringing and seeing how many ‘Barbies’ there are this year. So Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you all enjoy the evening as much as I know I will.

I got up this morning planning to do an 1 1/2 hour walk before my bootcamp class (yes even on Saturdays I am up early). I checked the temperature and it was -2. Ok, there was absolutely no hope that I was heading outside in the dark with it being that cold. So, yes, I hit the dreaded treadmill. Fortunately after bootcamp while it was still cold it was at least sunny out so I got in a 2nd 1 1/2 hour walk. That walk was far better than the first one.

Because it had turned so cold in the mornings this week I realized I needed to start wearing workout pants instead of shorts. Now I have lots of workout pants and some of them are pretty funky. The problem is they are all in size small and trust me they look tiny. However, I didn’t really have a choice but to try a pair on. Much to my surprise, they fit. I don’t mean they kinda fit, I mean they look good on me. I really didn’t realize I was back to this size.

After the success with the workout pants I decided I needed to try on some other clothes that I haven’t worn in a while. I had already found that some of my size 6 jeans fit again but really they were the relaxed fit ones and I was sure I am a ways off before the skinny jeans will fit. I tried on a couple jackets this week, first my jean jacket (fit perfectly) and then an awesome faux leather snug fitting jacket (I forgot how much I like that jacket but again looked great on me). I then decided to try one of my favourite blouses that is meant to be tight fitting. I was stunned that it fit so well. Then it was a pretty dress that I bought on a cruise 2 years ago that I have only worn once. I really want to wear it for the Remembrance Day celebrations but again worried my body wasn’t quite ready for it. Nope, it fits great and I look forward to proudly wearing it in 2 weeks.

Trying on clothes that I had grown out of was a big confidence booster for me. I have said all along that this journey is as much about mental fitness as it is about physical fitness. I have always looked at clothes that are in my size and thought it was impossible they would fit me and I have been proven wrong time and time again. Now I think I will start celebrating the fact that I have some great clothes to wear over the next while.

Oh, and yesterday I tried on the skinny jeans. They are a little tight in the waist but about 3 more pounds and they will be awesome on me. Yep, it’s all starting to fit again.

I have to say I am looking forward to dressing for winter. Last year I spent most of the winter months simply wearing sweat pants because that was all I had that fit comfortably. Now I am back into wearing most of my jeans (need a couple more pounds to be in the skinny jeans). You need to understand I have many pairs of jeans in different colours and styles but the one thing they have in common is they are all size 6. Well, apparently I am back to being a size 6 because most of my jeans fit. This means I can dress a little better this year.

I had a really terrible sleep last night. I was quite cold when I went to bed and very unlike me I huddled for hours under the duvet. When I checked my sleep score this morning it was pretty bad and I was surprised that hardly any of my sleep time had my heart rate below my resting heart rate which is also unusual. I woke up this morning with a massive headache and I was exhausted.

Now I don’t normally get headaches. Seriously, it happens maybe once every 2 or 3 years. Of course when I do get them they are quite debilitating and this morning’s was no different. I popped a couple extra strength ibuprofen but after 45 minutes there was no change. It was at that point that I went online and canceled my Power Hour class and crawled back into bed for a few hours.

My Fitbit has been screaming at me lately that I need some recovery time and I guess that is what I needed this morning. By time I got up again the headache was reduced to a dull throb which was tolerable. Not wanting to lose momentum with my training I decided maybe a brief walk would be a good idea. While it was chilly out the sun was shining and after about 1/2 hour I realized the headache was completely gone and so I completed a 90 minute walk. By time I got home I felt so much better.

But it was ok that I recognized that I needed a bit of extra time for my body to recover today. I have been hitting the workouts pretty hard since I got back from Mexico and it was time to step back a bit. Don’t get me wrong, I will still probably burn 1,000+ calories doing exercise today it will just be in a gentler fashion than starting my day with an intense workout.

Bottom line is once again I was listening to my body and doing what was best to let me recover a bit so that I can keep going.

Saturday I was out for a very early morning walk before heading off to bootcamp. It was early enough that it was still dark out. I got to an intersection where the light was red in the direction I was heading. I watched a large RV bearing the logo of a non-profit stop at the red light and then I guess the driver decided since there was no traffic it was ok to drive through the red light (it was about 45 seconds before that light turned green). Later in the afternoon I was out walking and got to a 4 way stop and I watched a pick up truck roll right through the crosswalk while looking at me obviously knowing I was there waiting to cross the street. Yesterday I was crossing the street at a controlled crosswalk near an elementary school. A car approaching the crosswalk saw me and stopped before I even hit the crosswalk button. The car behind them laid on the horn annoyed because that driver had stopped.

I preface this post with those stories because I am a very safety conscious walker. In spring when I am out early I have a light coloured running jacket with reflective stripes. When it gets warmer if I am out before sunup I have a mesh running vest that I wear again with reflective stripes. Now that it is colder I have a heavier running jacket that is neon chartreuse and it too has reflective stripes. For the winter I even now have a toque with reflective stripes. Recently I bought a running vest with flashing LED lights to take to Mexico because my next trip there I will be running in the early morning and I want to be seen. I wear earbuds while I am walking/running but I always ensure the volume is at a level that I can hear my own footsteps so that I know I can hear sounds around me. Finally I look in all directions when I am crossing the street including over my shoulder in case a car behind me is trying to turn into the intersection I am crossing. Despite all of this pretty much every day I have to take evasive movements to avoid been hit my a vehicle.

So what is my point to all of this? Well last week a local RCMP detachment posted a video on social media. The first scene depicted a woman wearing a darker jacket on a gloomy day. The woman puts earbuds into her ears and then flips up her hood. She then activates the lights at a controlled crosswalk and starts crossing the street. The second scene is a male driver who is doing things like looking down at his cell phone and not paying attention to the road. Ultimately the video shows the man almost hitting the woman in the crosswalk. The RCMP’s statement was ‘responsibility is 50/50’.

WTAF!!! Let me get this straight, the woman in the video did what she was supposed to an activated the controlled crosswalk. The man is illegally looking at his cell phone. How the hell is the responsibility 50/50? I will say there was a lot of negative comments to this video which I agree with. There was a small minority that said the video sent the right message but I so disagree. To me the message the RCMP was sending validated what I see daily, don’t worry about the pedestrian, they can get out of the way. The message also indicated that somehow if a driver doesn’t follow the rules of the road (and the law) and hit a pedestrian, well then part of the fault is the pedestrian’s. I cannot believe that when criticized they would double down on this ridiculous message.

I want to be clear, I encourage anyone out there walking/running to try to be in control of their own safety (that would have been a much more appropriate message for the RCMP to send). Those of you who follow me have seen the many posts I have put up about keeping yourself safe. But do not for one minute think that keeping yourself safe in any way abdicates the responsibility of drivers. They are the ones driving a 2 ton potential death machine and by law must give you the right of way (though never assume they are going to). Giving drivers any sort of message that a pedestrian shares the responsibility of drivers being diligent is in my view absolutely insane.

On a final note, all drivers out there, if you strike or injure a pedestrian because you were distracted, unfocused, or breaking the law (or for any other reason you could have avoided) think about how you are carrying that guilt for the rest of your life. And pedestrians, stay safe!

Apparently I messed up this morning. I got up at 5am and by 6am I was out for a 7.5 km walk. Got back, rehydrated and changed clothes. I headed off for my 8:30am bootcamp class only to realize when I got there that the class had actually started at 8:00am (I guess being out of my routine for 5 weeks has messed with me). I had arrived at 8:20am but when I realized what had happened I didn’t go inside but instead headed back to my vehicle. However, the instructor had seen me so came out to call me in and join the class in progress. I made sure not to be intrusive to those already working out and managed to get in a 40 minute workout (and then did an hour walk to get in the rest of my daily workout).

Upon returning from Mexico I was determined to get back into things right away. I gave myself the day off Monday mainly because we had gotten home so late but Tuesday I was at the 5:30am bootcamp class. This is a strength class and the instructor focused a lot on our legs. By time it was done I thought it had been a good workout. I then took off for a hard 6.5 km run and I was happy with my pace. However, between and intense leg muscle workout and that run by the end of the day my quads were killing me.

Despite having problems standing up, I hit the 5:30am bootcamp class on Wednesday. I knew my muscles were stiff and sore but I also knew that the worst thing I could do was not to get them warmed up and working again so I suffered through the class though I admit I felt better when it was over. Still, the legs were not exactly happy with me.

Thursday was the power hour class which is normally a more intense strength class. When the instructor explained the first segment I thought oh oh, this is going to be a tough class. Tough is an understatement and by time the class was over I was sweating profusely. I actually told the instructor I seriously thought she was trying to kill me.

And then yesterday it was back to bootcamp with the same instructor as Thursday. Holy crap, she decided to work us hard. By this point not only are my legs rebelling but my arm muscles were screaming from the previous day’s workout. I have to say by 2/3 of the way through I was thinking to myself, you have at least 20 years on everyone else in this room and you are too old for this shit. Yet I still managed to push myself all the way to the end.

What the hell? Somehow while I have been away the instructors decided to take everything up a notch? This was not me getting back to my routine, this was blatant torture! Oh but wait, despite literally working my ass off I feel awesome. The fact that I am usually the oldest woman in the room and am keeping up tells me that I am fit and quite frankly more fit than some of those younger women. Ok, so I sweat a lot but I also work hard so I should expect to sweat. Obviously the work I did in Mexico allowed me to be at the same fitness level I was before I went and seriously if they keep pushing me this hard I’ll be even more fit by the end of the year.

So, bring it on ladies, I’ll keep up.

Ok, my apologies to anyone who looked for my blog on Tuesday. I actually didn’t realize that I had forgotten to write it until late yesterday afternoon. But I do have a good excuse, I was still exhausted from the trip home. Unfortunately our flight was delayed to the point where we didn’t get home until 2am Monday. Then it was up early to do the walk with the seniors. You would think that meant I slept well Monday night but nope, tossed and turned all night. However, now I am back on track.

Every year I do Sober October as a cancer fundraiser and I could have skipped it this year since we wouldn’t be getting home until the 15th (and no we could not have started it in Mexico) but I decided that we could simply start on the 16th and just go for a month. Seriously, after all the tequila that I drank in Mexico I felt it was a pretty good idea to go without alcohol for a while. Besides, it will likely help me to lose that rest of weight that I want before the end of the year.

There are 2 days that I will be breaking Sober October during my dry month. The first day I want to talk about will be November 11th, Remembrance Day. Now some will say I just want to go join my friends at the Legion and drink but that is actually not the case. You see to my family November 11th is a very important day. Our Dad was a WW II veteran who after 30+ years of fighting the government was finally deemed to have been disabled because of the war. To him, this day was one of the most important days of the year as he ‘celebrated’ what he did to help his country (despite have suffered both physical and mental injuries) and help preserve the rights of his children. And so it will be for my Dad that I raise a pint and say, thank you.

The other day is today. Yes, I have just started my dry month but today is the 7th anniversary of my Mom’s passing. Most women and many men will understand when I say that losing my Mom was one of the most difficult things I have ever experienced. Mom had been sick for quite awhile before she died but the last 2 years of her life she battled terminal cancer. We had her for nearly a year longer than they had predicted but still her death left a huge hole in my heart. Even after all this time when something significant happens in my life I always think, oh I can’t wait to tell Mom. I wonder what she would think about the work I do know and of our lovely Mexican condo. And so today we raised a glass of wine in memory of Mom and I have no regrets about doing that.

Seriously, 2 days out of an entire month that I will have alcohol, I figure that is pretty good. And I know from past experiences that doing the no alcohol thing has some positive effects including more energy, weight loss and supposedly better sleep (note, the better sleep thing is a big lie as far as I am concerned). It will actually give me a chance to focus on reaching my peak fitness level and lose that last amount of weight.

I’ll let you all know on November 16th how this has worked for me. Who knows, maybe I’ll decided to extend Sober October.

This morning my husband said to me, this is our last full day here. Seriously? Like I needed reminding. My goal today is to not think in those terms but rather enjoy the day. We are heading downtown to pick up a few things and to have a nice lunch. I’m not quite ready to think about what I need to do next week other than I will be back to my usual eating habits and workouts. Otherwise it is simply have a great time today.

It never ceases to amaze me how every time we come to our condo it is a different experience. Each time we learn new things and meet new friends which happened again on this trip. We spent more money than planned but it was because of repairs and purchases for the condo. The unexpected washing machine breakdown and termite issue were somewhat costly but if I look for a positive spin we now have more contacts of who to call when we have problems (though hopefully we don’t use those contacts anytime soon). Our social network has again expanded and we are developing a real sense of community. Oh, and I saw monkeys which was probably the highlight of this trip.

I think though that I really proved to myself that if I put my mind to it I can stay on my health and fitness journey while I am here. Ok, full disclosure that food wise I had things I shouldn’t have and the alcohol consumption has been higher than I would have liked but that has been offset by the fact I did not miss a single day when it comes to working out. I acknowledge that I didn’t get the number of runs in that I planned this week but even the heat hasn’t stopped me from doing at least a good 5k walk each day. Keeping to my workout plans is something I now know that I can do as long as I keep that mantra of no excuses.

And so tomorrow I will still do a workout and then it will be packing, cleaning and laundry. We will say goodbye to our close friends before we head home. Fortunately it really isn’t that long until we are back for another 6 weeks during which I know I will stick firmly to my journey.

I don’t understand why when you are waiting to go away on a trip the time drags but while on the trip time flies by. Once again we have some things on our fun things to do list that we didn’t get to and with only 3 days left doesn’t look like they will happen. We decided that the next trip we have to do those things at the beginning of the trip so that we actually get to them. Oh well, something to look forward to.

I got up early this morning and when I checked the temperature it was already 30 Celsius (90 Fahrenheit). That’s pretty hot but I checked the humidex only to learn the true temperature was 41 (104). Now today was supposed to be a running day but I quickly realized that there was no way that was going to happen. When there is that kind of humidity happening I find it difficult to breathe properly when I am running. I opted instead for a brisk walk and if the weather cooperates tomorrow I’ll try to do the run.

The second I walked outside I knew I had made the correct decision, within 5 minutes I was soaked with sweat. I kept up my pace most of the hour walk (ok, I stopped for about 30 seconds to pet a cat) and it was exhausting. I always wear my water belt (which has 2 good containers of water) when I walk or run. Moreover, I freeze the water so that it stays cold during my workout. Today, not only did the water completely thaw (that hasn’t happened before) but the last 1/3 of the walk I was drinking warm water. That should indicate exactly how hot it is today.

But you know what, I can’t control the weather. I can control the fact that my workout can change to one that is safer for me and that is what I did. Quite frankly, I burn a lot of calories when I walk and I ensure to keep my heart rate up, it just doesn’t get to peak levels. I didn’t lose anything by recognizing it was not a good day for a run and I will use my judgement tomorrow depending on what the weather is like.

Bottom line, I accept there are things I have no control over and I just have to focus on being successful on my personal journey.

I have to wonder why weather karma is out to get me. Every day that I have done a run here has been extremely warm. This morning I planned to do a run and by 7am it was already 29 degrees! Trust me by time that run was finished I was soaked with sweat. I am so looking forward to being back here in January when running should be much easier.

I posted a picture on Facebook the other day showing my new 2 piece swimsuit which I plan to wear to the beach this week. When I looked at that picture I told my husband that is not how I see myself. You see to me I am still a big girl. When I look at my body I still see the decades of obesity. To me my legs are huge but then I looked at that picture and thought wait, your legs are pretty skinny. I don’t know why I can’t get my head wrapped around the fact that the obesity is gone and if I keep working hard it will stay that way.

I’m an intelligent woman so you would think that when I buy close in small sizes my head should be able to sort out that I can’t be big. But no, to me it is almost like some sort of illusion that I wear a size 6. You would also think that having been smaller for a few years now that I would be used to how I look but again no, I am always surprised when I see myself in a picture. Maybe someday I will get to the point where I just accept this is who I am now but I guess I am just not there yet.

Apparently I still have some work to do on my mental fitness.

Well, I did manage to get my 3rd run of the week in yesterday. I woke up feeling much better and wanted to be able to say I had met my goal. There is something really satisfying about not procrastinating about doing workouts so I just had to get it done as soon mas possible. Fortunately other than a bit of a cough my cold doesn’t seem to be too bad which is probably due to the sunshine, heat and possibly the tequila.

We are at the end of week 4 at the condo and we return home a week tomorrow. I can always tell when our trips are nearing the end because we start talking about things we need to do before we leave. Some of them are what needs to be done in the condo while others are things we had planned to do that we hadn’t gotten to yet. Ultimately even coming here for 5 weeks we still seem to run out of time. We’ve already reduced our things to do list because we just won’t get to everything.

I said to my husband last night, do you realize I have not missed a day of working out? He congratulated me on being so diligent this trip. I guess the lesson I have learned is that I can work hard at my fitness and still have a good time. Previous trips I 1) didn’t work as hard as I should and 2) as the trip went on I found more and more reasons not to work out. This trip I have been so bound and determined that when I get home I will be at the same or better fitness level than I was when I left and I am confident that won’t be a problem.

I won’t lie, I have been eating and drinking more than I normally do. Having said that, I am still very cognizant of my calorie intake and I think I have managed it appropriately. Once I get home I still have over 2 months to reach my end of year goal so allowing myself to indulge a little during this trip won’t really take me too far off track.

The bottom line is that I now know that I can successfully train hard while I am here and at the same time enjoy myself.