Fitness Foray

My latest foray into fitness.

I swear I’m gonna try this time. I still have my cool Nike+iPod gadget, which is still awesome. But this time: back to basics.

While I was in the states 2 weeks ago, I picked up a few simple items that should make it easier for me to work out at home.

#1: Jump Rope

#2: Resistance Cords

#3: Bender Ball

#4: Well actually, #4 isn’t so simple. #4 is actually rather ridiculous, but hey-here is it: SlenderTone.

I’ll keep you posted. The weather here is starting to get summertime gorgeous which means I’m only a few weeks from weekly bikini days! Eek! Fitness starts today bitches!

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Worst Blogger Ever

I am apparently the world’s worst blogger!! Such a seemingly easy task to try, and I can’t even keep that up!!

Attempt: Blogging.

Status: failed

sigh…

In better news, I have been successful in running every day since Saturday! Except for today….so far….Shit…that’s only 4 days! It feels like way more than that! My Nike+iPod thingy is fabulous. It really motivates me being able to know exactly how far I’ve run, and at what pace. It’s so sad that in high school, at the peak of my fitness (I was a competitive swimmer for 13 years) I easily ran a 6 minute mile. And now…just 7 years later…I’ve been running 12 minute miles :( Terrible.

I’d be happy if I could get down to a 9 minute mile. I’m sure I could if I was only running a 1 mile “sprint”…but what’s the point of that?? Last night I ran almost 2.5miles, and was very pleased with myself…I hope I can keep it up! Maybe I won’t even pack on those holiday pounds!!

Also, bedroom renovation update: COUNTERTOPS BEING DELIVERED TOMORROW!! woooooooooohoooooo!! it’s about friggin’ time!! Countertops are pretty much the final piece of this puzzle that has been my bedroom reno! I’m hoping  my daddio will promptly install the countertops, sink, faucet. Then it’s just a matter of hanging the upper shelves over the 18inch backsplash…attaching the drawers pulls…..*anticipation is mounting*….STOCKING THE CABINETS….AND BOOM!!! DONE!!! ahhhhh! I can’t friggin’ wait!

Now if only I could find my Olympus camera charger….then I could document this momentous occasion and share the joy with all of you…

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Not trying much

For those of you who may have noticed I’m not really “trying” much lately…I have a good reason.

As far as my exercising goes, well, I have 2 excuses…

#1 is I’ve had this stubborn chest cough for 2 weeks now!!! I feel mostly fine, and I’m not congested or achy or anything, but just have this horrible, gross cough! I dunno what the deal is.

#2 is kind of embarrassing. Actually, I was really embarrassed. The other day, when I was leaving work, I was pulling out of my parking space (keep in mind that I drive a scooter) and when I turned the throttle to give it some gas, I’m not sure if I gave it too much, or the throttle jammed or what, but me & the scooter took off, and I lost control, almost crashed into a parked car, and eventually fell over and hit the pavement. *tear*

I ripped up my good work trousers, & scratched and bruised up both knees and the top of my left foot. Lucky for me (this is sarcasm) a bunch of people were around to witness my wipe out, and ran over in a flurry of concern. I’m grateful they were there in case I really had been hurt, and their concern was very nice. But really, I was more or less fine, just felt really stupid.

A day later, once all the bruises had set in real good, I realised I must have hit the handlebars with my right shoulder, cuz it’s killing! Soooo, I have been unable to run and/or wear tennis shoes with my various injuries.

With regard to my composting/gardening activities. Well, one day, I opened up the bottom tray to dump the compost, to find 2 shiny metal pieces laying on top. I subsequently photographed and emailed the pix to NatureMill, telling them my latch wouldn’t close either. They replied right away saying it was a problem that has been noted and they’d mail me an upgrade latch right away, free of charge. Which they did. Actually, they sent two. I hope that doesn’t mean their ‘upgrade’ is bound to fail as well…

I finally got around to installing the new latch yesterday afternoon. It was a stinky, messy, tricky job. First of all, the instructions were kind of vague, and second of all, the composter handles waste. So, inherently, it kind of stinks. Although it’s not like rotten garbage smell, it’s some kind of smell. Anyhow, it got done. Thank goodness. I guess that’s another thing I should be thankful for.

I’m also thankful it’s almost CHRISTMAS!!! Ahhhhhh! I gonna get my tree & decorations this weekend! Yayz for dayz!

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Thermal Undies?

Now, you might think it would be totally absurd to live in The Bahamas and own thermal underwear. But you would be wrong. And here’s why:

#1: It gets chilly here a few days a year. In Dec, Jan & Feb, lows average in the low 60s!! I can prove it here! And that’s just averages! We have days where highs don’t get above 70! And it’s windy!!!! That’s brutal. Hence, thermal underboogies.

#2: Maybe that doesn’t sound so harsh to you, but guess what, it’s cuz your blood is thicker than mine. Yep. It’s true. It goes something like: When you live in warmer climates, you blood is thinner so that your body can release heat more easily, and conversely, when you live in colder climates, your blood is thicker, to help you retain heat better.  So when it does get cold here, my body is less able to retain heat. Thus, why I need thermal undies.

#3: Hello! We islanders do travel ya know! I enjoy a snowy ski vacay just as much as the next guy!

So here’s my shameless plug so that I have a chance to win some free thermaliscious undies! But really, what a cool site! And who knew so many brands made thermal undies just for the ladies!?! I’m impressed. I want theseee! You def should check their site out!

Brought to you by: Women’s Thermal Underwear

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Back to Reality!

To all my loyal readers (ha?),

Sorry I haven’t posted in a bit. I was in NYC on vacay, and being a total lard-ass…but there is so much good food there! It’s impossible to resist…so I didn’t even try. Maybe all the walking we did around the city compensated for it a leedle bit…but I doubt it. I’m essentially gonna be starting from scratch if when I start working out again…

I do actually have intentions to start working out again. Proof of this intent:

• The new Nike + Shox I bought
• The Nike + iPod insert I bought
• All the cute workout clothes I agonised over, but then didn’t buy cuz they didn’t have my size…jerks…

cool stuff

Unfortunately, I am sick, and so the workout regimen is post-poned indefinitely (until I’m better). I’m not sure whether it was just the cold, dry air wreaking havoc and tearing up my windpipes, or if I am legit sick and picked up a cold somewhere along the way.

When I returned to the 80% humidity of The Bahamas this afternoon, I did feel marginally better than I did when I left NYC this morning, so that’s promising…

I’ll be sure to keep you posted on my snottiness… haha

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Suggestions?

got 'em?

So I already feel like I’m running out of things to write about on my poor little blog, and that it’s already as dull as dishwater. Maybe you people in cyberspace have some suggestions of things I could try out (preferably along the lines of my interests…) My interests are pretty simple:

Environment/Conservation, climate change, invasive species

Animals; pets & wildlife

Health/Diet, vegetarianism, cooking, organic, gardening, composting

Fitness: gym, weights, tennis, swimming, water-sports

Some other interests of mine which I haven’t written about yet are things like: boating, reading, spirituality, decorating, crafts (oo that reminds me, I could show you guys some of the (pretty?) things I’ve made)

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Pumping Iron

So I’m not sure if I already shared this little tid bit (I have a tendency to repeat myself, cuz I’m not sure who I told what) but last night Benji & I began our new workout routine. Oh. BTDubs, Benji is the person heretofore referred to as my bf. hehe.

It actually works out quite marvelously. #1-the gym @ his condo is free (saves me $60+month, woo! money I can put towards waxing some part of my body…eyebrows?), #2-it’s almost always empty. This is great because I get very self-conscious working out around people…I feel like they’re watching me & that I look clueless, and these feelings almost always result in a shortened workout. #3-it’s located before the horrible heavy rush-hour traffic, #4-by the time I’m finished working out, traffic is over, #5-I get to see my shnookums, #6-the obvious health benefits.

All around A+ I’d say.

am I? maybe not yet...

So last night, I ran a 10 min mile on the treadmill, then walked for a bit to cool down, stretched and then moved on to the weight-room. (I’m gonna take some pix tonight of what a nice little oasis this condo’s gym is) So then I did a mix of diff machines: for my stems, the leg press, leg extension & leg curl (5 sets of 15) and for my giant arms, I did a couple diff exercises on that cable pull-down machine, and shoulder presses, (again, 5 sets of 15) and then a little bit of free-weights with dumb-bells. (dumbells? dumbbells?) I don’t know. And that was it for day 1. It actually doesn’t sound like much at all, but it felt good, and I’m glad I did it! :)

Tonight’s day 2! I  gotta make a work-out schedule. Would it be totally dorky if I made one in Excel? Ahhh well, I’m doing it anyway!

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Return of the Run!

Woooo! Don’t ask me how or why, but somehow, on Saturday morning, I was motivated to go for a run in the few hours I had to spare before going in the boat!

This is the route I ran:

Hurricane Hole Loop
Find more Runs in Paradise Island, Bahamas

At the beginning of my run, I felt super crappy. My legs just had no energy at all…but I decided to push though. I kept thinking of Mel’s blog (she runs brooklyn) & how she enjoys the feeling of pounding the pavement and pushing through the burn, and it really helped me keep going! I also kept telling myself to just not think about how my legs felt, to look around at the beautiful day, concentrate on my breathing, listen to my music (ps: steve miller band-jungle love, totally rocked my run!!!)…and voila-2.23 miles! Now, I’m not gonna pretend I didn’t have to slow down & walk a few times, cuz I did…but regardless; I’m proud of myself!! :)

And – my bf & I have plans to run again this evening, and maybe even get in some Tennis!!  I hope I can keep it up! Feels good!

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Bad dogs!

So after I wrote that last post, I felt motivated enough to go for a run. I got dressed, grabbed the leash & my dog and hit the road. It was going pretty well until I got down the 2nd hill in my neighbourhood. There are these 2 bad dogs there that are always loose! Now-just about every house in my neighbourhood has at least 1 or 2 dogs, but everyone keeps them fenced into their own yard, as they should.

that sounds about right...

These 2 dogs however, are always out in the street! And what’s worse is that they’re horrible, aggressive dogs! They bark and chase you and go after your dog too! So of course, I’m mildly stressed, I really don’t need to deal with a dog fight! And it just makes me so angry! Why do these dog owners think that they don’t have to keep their dogs under control? Not only are they a nuisance and potential danger to other residents who want to walk their dogs and/or exercise in the neighbourhood, but they’re also a hazard to vehicular traffic! They get right up beside your car, and it’s so scary! I don’t want to hit a dog!

Ugh, so that was really annoying, and I couldn’t get back in the ‘run’ zone. Does this happen to anyone anywhere else? Maybe there are there other annoyances I should be glad I don’t have to deal with?

So anyway, my plan is to wake up in the morning and run again, solo this time…sorry Shera…

I’ll let you know how that goes…

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Bad News…

Ugh, bad news kids…I haven’t run since the first time!! Ack! I’m so disappointed in myself!  But truth is, I really haven’t had a chance!

OK, a little explanation: my boyfriend and his siblings are opening a Salvatore Ferragamo store here in Nassau and I was helping out a lot to try and hurry things along as much as possible. After work on Friday I went over there to help, from about 5-10pm.

some of my beautiful handiwork!

The store was finally somewhat operational by the end of Friday evening!! Yayyyy! And -my boyfriend made the inaugural sale! Wooo! :) And thennnn we worked Saturday evening from 8pm-11pm, and again for the morning shift on Sunday, 10am-1pm, and thennnn, well…Sunday afternoons are now totally devoted to football. :-| Joy.

*drool*...Ferragamo Bags & Shoes...

Yesterday, after work, I was lame and spent the afternoon trying to catch up on House season 5 in time for the premiere, but…I didn’t get thru all of them…so I have no choice but to continue that marathon this evening! 13 down, 11 to go…:)

I could watch him all day!

So, long story short, I’m  full of excuses very busy lately.

In better (other?) news, I have a few other things I’m currently “trying” and will be posting about asap:

#1 is I’m trying to sprout and grow my own vegetables this fall in an attempt to a) be healthy, b) save money, c) learn how.

#2 is I’ve planted 2 new trees, a Barbados Cherry and a Pomegranate! And both (!) have blossoms on them, and will hopefully be bearing fruit shortly! (the cherry has actually had a few already!)

#3 is a composting effort which began several weeks ago (before I had this blog) so I’m going to give you the background leading up til now…this also ties in with the veggie growing and attempt at vegetarianism (have I mentioned that yet? that’s also on the list of things I’m “trying”…)

It’s all very exciting stuff. (ha?)

Stay tuned!

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