Category Archives: Fitness

Off to the Wilderness

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….makes me laugh when I say it because there’s more wildlife here in the city than at my cottage!

We don’t have these at the cottage!

I won’t be posting for a several days because I have no access to electricity. There is electricity on the island just not at my cottage. If K has his way there will never be electricity in our cottage unless we invest in a renewable energy source. More on that another time.

I’ll be at the cottage by myself. I’m hoping I’ll have time to reflect, re-energize and refocus on my weight loss goals. I’m holding steady at my 20 pounds plus weight loss but I need to move forward for the next 20 pounds. Long walks/runs on the beach, swimming, raking the lot and cleaning the cottage should help with the fitness goals. I’m bringing my kettle bell as well.

Cooking for myself and not worrying about other people’s dietary needs is helpful as well. The  only problem is I tend to forget the time up there and eat at odd hours. I’ll be fine as long as I get in my three meals before it gets dark. I also have to make a concerted effort to stay hydrated. The spring water we draw from is excellent but it wasn’t working when I opened the cottage last weekend so I’ll be bringing large bottles of water just in case.

I do have a phone at the cottage and a battery powered radio so I’m not completely isolated from the rest of the world. And before you think I’m living the life of a hermit I do have neighbours and there’s always someone close by.

I need to get a move on. I still have to buy the water and propane to run the fridge and BBQ. Looking forward to a few days of R&R.

Cheers!

Two More Days

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…. the worst is behind me

I think that today was the last big stressor for the school year. The Farewell Ceremony! For a number of years I’ve been the MC for the event. It gets a little bit easier every year but I still have at least one stumble. Covering it up with humour helps.

I came to school this morning knowing that I had to write two speeches for the afternoon. Fortunately I work really well under pressure. The words came easily. I loved presenting the special awards. My principal cursed me for making her so emotional but she got through her presentation as well.

After the ceremony, the grade 4 parents served refreshments. I have to say that I wasn’t  the least bit tempted by the cake and other sweets.  After mingling with the parents and posing for pictures with some of my students I did munch on some delicious vegetables and hummus.

The report cards are stuffed into the envelopes for tomorrow, copies have been filed and I’ve signed off on the OSRs. The only thing left to do is the grade 5 activity day (Wednesday) and the Future Ace assembly on the Thursday. Friday is our last PD day which involves a staff meeting and time to clean our rooms.

At the end of the day my husband called me from the car to tell me that he had my aunt with him. She was released from the hospital and they were on their way to her house. I met them there and had a nice visit with her. We’re a little concerned about her medications and the fact that she lives alone. I think we will checking in on her a lot more often.

I’m looking forward to getting back to walking/running again once this week is over. I still haven’t gotten over that 18 pound hump. It’s late and I need some sleep before another busy day gets under way. TTFN!

 

 

 

 

Ahhhhhh…………Relief!

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………. the rain came and the heat finally broke.

The heat has been unbearable. It makes you want to do nothing but sit quietly. So much for exercising.

The heat makes me retain water and I’ve shown a gain on the scale. It’s also partly due to the stress I’ve been under which also has a negative impact on my weight loss.

After today no more excuses. The heat wave has lifted, the report cards are done, and the activities for next week have been organized and are pretty much ready to go.

I went to see my aunt tonight. She’s still in the hospital but her spirits are good. Tomorrow is her 86th birthday and unfortunately she’ll be spending it in the hospital. I’m away for the weekend but K will probably pay her another visit and I’ll pop in Sunday evening when I get home. It looks like it’ll be Tuesday at the earliest before they release her. The problem is they don’t know what is causing the congestive heart failure in the first place and her lungs aren’t completely cleared.

It’s crazy hair day at school tomorrow. I’ve been pretty bad at remembering some of these spirit days. I’m hoping that writing it down here will help me remember. If I do I’ll post a picture.

Cheers for now!

 

That Feeling of Dread has Passed

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….. my reports are finally done!

I can’t explain how I feel except that it’s a lot better than how I felt on Tuesday.

After the race on Sunday I really wasn’t myself. I felt weird. Even my family noticed I was out of sorts. The comments didn’t help, even though I know they were out of concern for my well being. Saying things like ‘running at my age probably wasn’t a good idea’ or ‘pushing myself was bad for my health’ made me feel insecure and somewhat foolish.

Tuesday was probably my lowest point. I wanted to find a doctor to check me out. I literally had this feeling of doom come over me. I cried at the drop of a pin and I couldn’t think straight. Finishing my report cards seemed like an impossible task even though I’ve been doing them for over 30 years.

My principal and good friend, M, calmed my fears and told me that after everything I’ve experienced this past year I was probably experiencing anxiety attacks or a form of PTS. Word spread that I was having a difficult time and a number of my colleagues and friends started to take some of the stresses off my back by offering to help me with my report cards, go to a meeting for me and just be there for me. I started to feel better immediately.

I also have a few leads on finding a family doctor. I really feel the need to get the go ahead from a physician to continue with my running. I’ll keep on walking and now that the ‘hot’ weather is here I’ll start swimming again as well.

On Tuesday night I went to L’s house and we sat at the computer for 4 hours and finished most of learning skills comments for my students. Today I finished the remaining few comments after school.

That feeling of dread really has passed and I never want to feel it again. 

I Did It!

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…. couldn’t believe how emotional the experience was.

I actually walked/ran 5 km today. We started at the back of the pack and finished probably in the bottom third. I didn’t come in last and I ran at the start line and I crossed the finish line running.

What surprised me today was how much running I did in between. I can’t say for sure but I think I ran at least 1/3 the distance. At the finish line I could feel myself become very emotional and when I met up with my family I cried like a baby. It was partially exhaustion but also the realization that anything is possible regardless of age, weight or fitness level.

I started off disliking running and now want to continue. I’m already investigating future races later in the summer. I am more motivated than ever to lose more weight.

My brother-in-law took over 600 pictures of the runners coming across the finish line. The ones of L and I are hilarious and somewhat frightening at the same time. The look of determination and exhaustion would make anyone wonder if running at our ages was a good idea and those pictures of me crying….. oh boy! I doubt that I will ever post those pictures unless I decide to use them as my ‘before’ pictures.

I do have to admit that for the rest of the day I felt somewhat disoriented and not myself. I need a good night’s sleep and some time to reflect on the whole experience. I’ve included some photos from before the race and a group family photo with the ‘three sisters’. This last picture was taken about 5 hours after the run.

Cheers!

Coach C and Coach L at the beginning of the race. Coach C came in long before us.

Coach L and me. Looking refreshed and ready to go.

On Father’s Day with the ‘three sisters’, Dad, partner G, hubby K and nephew P.

Race Day!

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…. the day has finally arrived.

I’ve been up since 5:30 and I can’t believe how nervous I am. I know I can walk the 5 km and I don’t have any illusions about running the total distance. I do, however, want to start running and end running.

It looks like it’s going to be a nice day but the weatherman has forecast rain later in the day. After the race it’s off to my dad’s place to celebrate Father’s Day and then back to Toronto to have a Father’s Day celebration for K with our children. My baby sister, CS and her husband leave for Calgary tonight.

Somewhere in between all of this I have to find some time to put the finishing touches on my report cards.

Wish me luck (for the run). Send me some positive thoughts over the airways.

Cheers

Yesterday’s Post Went Up Today

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….. all references to ‘today’ happened on Friday

I was up 1 pound this morning but I knew that might happen. I find that with Asian food I tend to retain water.

I did get out for a really good long walk/run this morning with my baby sister, K and the dog.When we got to the rugby pitch I ran about 3/4 of it and then I ran along the road to the point, along a side path off the main road and then from 11th St to 8th St., walked one block and then finished the last stretch by running. Feels good.

According to gmap-pedometer.com I ran about 1.3 km. I think that’s the most I’ve run to date. I actually feel like I could run further. I actually want to run further.

Watching us on our walk this morning.

Ate Well, Worked Hard ……BUT Feeling the Stress

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…. and it shows on the scale

Now it’s not all bad news. The weight that I’ve lost is still lost but I seem to have plateaued  again. In the last 2 days alone I’ve walked at least 12 km and I’ve put in about 4 hours of gardening (mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, trimming trees and clipping the hedge … no power gardening tools at our house).

I’ve been eating a lot of salads with a protein or stir fried vegetables and fish. I can’t remember the last time I had a cookie or ice cream and I think in the last 8 weeks I’ve had bread once (one slice) and pizza twice (2 slices) and that was weeks ago. I know that I need to hang in there and that eventually the weight will come off again.

June is always a very stressful time at school. The biggest stress for me is the writing of report cards. Once I finish those I know that I can breathe a little easier and get on with the 101 other things that need to be finished….but none of these other things stress me out as much as report cards. It didn’t help that for period of time this weekend our internet didn’t work. We had to actually go out and but a new router. It amazes me how much we depend on technology even for writing report cards.

I better finish here so that I can go back and do some more work on you know what and I need to prepare some lessons for a supply teacher tomorrow. No, I’m not calling in sick. I’m actually taking the girls’ soccer team to a semi final game and if they win they will play again to see if they move on to the city finals. Wish us luck!

P.S. If the scale moves down tomorrow morning I will post a very brief update.

Cheers

Time to Celebrate

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…. so many things to be thankful for, but the best is that “there are no more cancer cells to kill” according to K’s doctor.

The day started off with a 1/2 pound weight loss on the scale and I can now say I’m officially down 13 pounds.  Not as much as I had hoped for but I’ll take it.

I took the day off work to be with K for his first day of chemo in this last round. He rode his bike to the hospital and I drove to school to drop off a few things that needed to be dealt with today. When I got to the hospital my husband had already had his blood work done and the doctor decided to wait for me before she shared the good news.

All K’s organs are normal again, the lymph nodes have shrunk significantly and there are only a few small nodules here and there that don’t seem be a concern. We couldn’t believe it when she told us that this would be the last round because there were no more cancer cells to kill.

Apparently there is no permanent cure for CLL but K’s quality of life should be significantly better for some time to come. After this round it will take him about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks to feel better. We are over the moon with joy. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

I didn’t get out for a walk this morning with Frances but I did go for a long one after dinner tonight. I love the route we take and I brought my camera to share with you what we see on our walks. These are 2 more things that I’m thankful for: being able to walk 5 to 6 km and love it and for living in one of the most beautiful areas in Toronto.

Life is good! Enjoy every minute of it.

A New Week With Many Challenges

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…. bigger class, EQAO testing, report cards, more soccer practices, Girls on the Run, and K’s last round of chemo

I’ve probably forgot some things but I have to take one day at a time and one task at a time. Of course on top of all of this I’m trying to to get through the curriculum and I’ve assigned more projects to keep the kids engaged. 

Today was a good activity and food day. I started the morning off with a nice walk/run with K and Frances. About 3 km. I spent about 3 hours working in the garden, cutting grass, trimming the edges, pulling weeds from the brick work on the patio and washing down the deck. We have birds nesting in our tree and our neighbour’s bird feeders attrack pigeons, so we have a lot of “fall out”, so to speak, to clean up.

Later in the afternoon I did a little bit of shopping and then I went to a “NOT a book launch” party. Unfortunately the word NOT did not come up in conversation when I was told about it and I expected to go there and buy a book. I stayed away from the usual party food and nibbled on some turkey and vegetables. No wine, chips, nachos, spring rolls, etc.. Feels good to be in control.

Till tomorrow!