As is common with good intentions, there is always 'something' that comes up to potentially derail you from your goals. Well, last week, my four year old got sick so I got no walking in until thursday. Then, that very same day, I got sick, plus my husband as well. The next day, we were both toast with sore throats and fevers and saturday, our oldest joined in with a high fever of his own.

After several nights of literally no sleep or only one hour of sleep, I finally felt better so tuesday I thought, great! Let's get back to walking..I am behind my schedule as it is! Nope! I did not expect the weather front to swoop down Austin with whatever allergens came into the air as well. Inspite of days and days of sudafeds and benadryls, my sinus headache floored me and rendered me useless. After picking the kids up from school, I suggested to watch a Harry Potter movie (gray weather and/or rain equals HP weather in our household) so I could chill and hopefully not get sick.

So all of THAT equalled no walking again! What is today? Oh yes, wednesday. Already?? Well, sorry. I have things to do and places to be so today is not going to be an exercise day of any kind.
I'll definitely try to make it tomorrow. I hope.

So I finally broke down and purchased some running clothes.

I know, I know. My mother would slap me if she could reach me, but just listen for a minute. I have been running in basketball shorts and old T-shirts, which has been working fine and all, but after a hard run my shirt weighs a good five pounds and leaves a trail of drippage everywhere I go. I had resisted the urge (and the prodding from others) to pay for new clothes that would do the same job as the ratty old t-shirts I've been hanging on to for the last 6 years for as long as I could.

Let me tell you this; clothing MADE for running cannot be replaced by basketball shorts and a T-shirt! Moisture wicking clothing has to be one of the top inventions of the last 50 years.

I have an insanely high metabolic rate, I mean crazy high metabolism. Some people struggle with weight, in that they have trouble loosing it, well I have trouble gaining weight. I know a lot of you are rolling your eyes right now, but (I am serious here) there are a lot of body issues that come about for a male when he is significantly under his ideal weight. Anyway, my metabolism is so high that 9 months out of the year I need a fan blowing on me while sleeping. There are times that I am stripped down to a pair of shorts and a smile and I am sweltering while everyone else in the room is bundled up in turtle necks and gloves. It's almost like I have been cursed to live a life of constant hot flashes.

I swear that last paragraph had a point, and the point is this; when I run, I sweat like a . . . something that sweats a whole lot. Like I said earlier, my cotton T-shirt will end up weighting a good five pounds after a run. But not anymore! This moisture wicking stuff is GREAT! If you exercise regularly and don't own a moisture wicking shirt, finish reading this blog, then go out and buy yourself one. Seriously. I ran solid for over 40 minutes yesterday and when I finished my hair was soaked, my shins were soaked (I kid you not, my shins sweat when I get real hot) but my chest / shirt was dry as a bone! It kept me dry and much, much cooler than a T-shirt.

I wish I knew someone on the marketing crew of a name brand, cause I would be singing the praises of a specific brand right now for major kick backs. But I don't, so I can tell you in all honesty that of the three brands of moisture wicking materials I purchased, they all work equally well. Do don't pay too much for a logo, buy a shirt and some shorts and come out on Saturdays at 8 am to run with us.

Really, Saturdays at 8am, auditorium shores right next to the RunTex coolers it's the Team Zen spot! Hope to see you there, misery loves company right!?

drew

i told myself i'd not be able to write here again until i'd done some small sort of exercise. and it worked!

i have an old, and sometimes recurring back injury from when i used to skate with the rhinestone cowgirls of austin's own txrd lonestar rollergirls, (rhinestones are forever y'all!) for which pilates has been recommended to keep my back and stomach muscles strong.

for anyone who's heard the name, but never really gotten an explanation, pilates is a system of exercise somewhat similar to yoga, which emphasizes core-strengthening and spine-lengthening (and it works, i used to have a pilates teacher who'd stretched her spine so far that i swear i once saw it poking through her leotard like a tail!)

so in order to keep my back fit for this weekend's workout, and of course, to have something to write about, i popped in my teeth-whitening strips (multi-tasking, another useful form of distraction) and worked along to my pilates video for a full fifteen minutes. not a long workout, but since i've got to run off to do the kind of work that pays, i'll have to be satisfied with having fit in even this little bit of effort. hooray self!

and, having nothing to do with club chronicle, only because i have a forum here...why does no one in austin use turn signals when driving? it takes only a miniscule amount of effort, and it saves lives. hah! now that i think about it, i guess that does sort of relate to everything i've been telling myself about exercise. look at the pot calling the kettle!

cheeers to all the silly things we complain about that other people do, which we probably really only complain about so that someday we'll hear our own advice. or is that just me?

Okay I am starting to feel pumped.  This past Saturday I completed a 3 mile walk !   My shirt was drenched and I ran out of water 2.5 miles later. You know sometimes we get these signs that come for some reason.  Well I had a few inspirational signs.  The first one was that I saw some of my members from http://www.meetin.org, as they cheered me on to keep going.   Next a group of face pace walkers called out "walker" as the passed me.  I made them laugh saying "Yea, walker with a flat". at this point I had gone 1.5 miles and that gave me the energy to keep going. Then, I do volunteer support with Keep Austin Beautiful (http://www.keepaustinbeautiful.org) , though this was not them, but a different group with kids picking up trash around the lake, and then last my team yelled out good stuff to help pump me up, which I am glad I am on their team.  With all the inspirations that I had gave me the feeling as I told myself over and over I am not going to give up, I want to change me, I want better for myself.  So thank you to to walking gods for allowing me to experience these inspirations. I did almost cried cause I was coming to the end of my 3mile walk, my body was tired and I needed another shirt.  What made my journey complete was the fact that a team member, and it doesn't matter who it was, but the fact I was not forgotten and someone was their waiting for me at the end.  When I met with the rest of the team it felt like I was back with family again as we were being tested for our shoes.  then we had an hour or so break. Then it was lunch at ZEN Japanese Restaurant (S. Congress).  Their food rocks even though Chronicle foot the bill this time, I may even go back.  I finally got to speak with Drew, he is a very cool person.  I guess he can stay :-).  Then we departed I went home and slept for four hours after my nice cold shower. I am now pumped and I am starting to believe I can do this. I always wondered why it is easier coming down stairs than to go up them?  Well at that note I am going to incorporate taking the stairs every Thursday and Friday unless I am carrying heavy boxes or desktops that need to be delivered. Saturday was a good workout! 338.80
Signing off until next week.
Sincerely,
James

since laying off the blog hasn't helped my motivation much after all, i'm back after only a bit, instead of a full week.

saturday sucked.

saturday was beautiful and amazing for the group as a whole -- most everybody ran, and ran for a long time. i was so proud of them. i'd like to say i was able to resist comparing myself to the rest of the group, as we've agreed is the best course for progress. but honestly, my pride for the group kind of made the giant "L" on my forehead burn bright, because I was LATE for the workout, and missed out on all the glory.

i woke up with over half an hour to prepare and travel to town lake. normally, (meaning when it's not morning-time,) i can get ready, even glamorous-ready (we're talking *my* version of glamour) in 10-15 minutes, tops. but in the morning, my mind, my feet and my hands, move like honey in the wintertime. so somehow, by the time i got out of the bathtub, the others had already begun their workout. i considered going back to bed. but no, i pushed myself out the door and into the car, and all the way downtown. i thought this was the good, responsible thing to do.

saturday was the day of lance armstrong's "livestrong challenge," and perhaps this worked to my benefit because as soon as i got out of my car, a yellow shirt-clad crowd the size of current homeland security forces rounded the corner, and seemed to chase me to the club chronicle starting point, keeping me from even considering any still lingering thoughts of returning to bed.

so i arrived at our usual starting point to find no one, because i was a full 20 minutes late. i looked around, and felt so lucky when i saw james' big red t-shirt across the lake. so i followed it. after half a lap around the lake, i discovered that my "james" was, in fact, a short middle-aged woman, (but she *was* wearing a red shirt) which turned out to be the first of many early-morning visions that made me rub my eyeballs and wonder if i might just have dreamed up the whole club chroncile, its lovely members who were nowhere in sight, and maybe worse, i might have even dreamed the promise of new running shoes from pearl izumi for us all.

to fully develop your mental image, i'll explain that i was still carrying my cup of coffee, wearing my jackie-o sunglasses, and whimpering a little because i'd dropped my lighter at the beginning of the trail, and so couldn't smoke my misery away as i plodded along. other than those details, i was in full workout gear and still searching for my team, when suddenly, very near a full lap around the lake, they passed me. i felt the wind of their pack, and then only an instant later, i saw the back of cassandra's club chronicle t-shirt. it was then that i knew for sure there had been no dream, i'd just missed out on the reality.

time isn't stopping for me to catch up, is the message. the question is only, and still, what is it going to take for me to really step up to this challenge, not just try my best?

from past attempts at working out, i can recognize this as the "plateau stage". in the first two weeks, we were meeting new people, doing new things, and even the smallest amount of effort was at least double the norm. now, the fact that our challenge involves only a short 8 weeks training -- which seemed a relief in the beginning -- is proving to be a serious pressure...i mean "motivator" (or do i?)

at least i can look forward to two weeks from now, when we'll be running in halloween costumes. distraction is definitely key to exercise. check back for fun pics, as i'm very busy distracting myself with suggesting costume ideas for us all!

next week's goal: whatever time i arrive, leave the coffee and smokes at home. seems like a no-brainer, but apparently "no-brainer" is just what i am in the morning.

lizzie

I think I slept wrong last night because I have a horrible kink in my neck. Of course, it could also be from watching the Cowboys game yesterday, where the entire time I had my head tilted to the side trying to figure out what was going wrong with my favorite quarterback (I call him my Love Muffin, fyi).

On Saturday, Patrick (our trainer) decided to change things up a bit and we had to do a distance run/walk/jog/whatever. My little group (Christi, Erin, and myself) did a total of three miles, and I thought I was going to die by the end of it. We were doing some power walking, which I can totally do, but not with this group! Let me tell you about Erin (our Chronicle contact); Erin’s legs are the length of my total body. One of her strides equals about twenty of mine. I felt like I was sprinting the entire three miles. As Greg put it, I looked like a little Corgi trying to keep up with a Greyhound. This is the drawback of being five feet tall.

Saturday we also had a small team lunch at Zen and got to chit-chat a bit. I really enjoyed the meal (and I had white rice with my meal instead of brown…I’m such a rebel) and the discussions we had. We really do mesh well together, so props to the Chronicle staff that picked us. We are totally awesome.

After our workout and lunch, I went home and napped for two hours. I was out cold. I’ve noticed that I’ve been going to bed earlier now that I’m workout out during the week. Sometimes I can’t even finish watching the ten o’clock news without falling asleep. I must be getting old.

Wow, a lot of things are going to happen Saturday, I am kind of skeptical of what Patrick will have me doing tomorrow. For those that are away or can't come I received and email from Prevention (weird timing) Let's Get Walking I am willing to do the work and I have my sweat shirt ready.  I was thinking if I should wear heavy clothing just to burn more calories.  It is kind of different being in bed at 9 to 10 o'clock on a Friday relieve stress night.  I may actually eat breakfast before showing up this time.  I have been drinking a lot of water and diet green tea, some crystal lights.  I am eating right, eating a lot of fibers, and taking my multi vitamins (Centrum Chewable).  I also excited about getting tennis shoes.  I literally have not own tennis shoes for about 4 years.   I learned last week by not bringing 12 bottles of water in my back pack and exercising  with it on  I got tired much faster, and went home with 6 bottles or so.  Though I thinking of getting a camel pack pouch for walking that way I can stay hydrated. Any suggestion on which I should get? Well I would like to thank for everyone support that I have received lately,  It does help when the support is there.  May be I need to drank Liz's coffee, and have more calories to burn.  Will post on Sunday or Monday!!!

One of the cool things about being a really bad runner is that when I run, mixed along with the voice in my head screaming for me to stop, I can eavesdrop on others conversations as they pass me but before they send their sharp, judging glances my way. Although I haven't been running for long, I have found a pretty consistent pattern. - Two or more women running together are almost always talking about how much their boyfriend\husband\sig. other sucks while the others in the group heave affirmations of agreement at the assessment. Because I am a guy I can only conclude that rarely, if ever, is any girl who runs in a trusting, happy relationship. Think about it fella's. - Two or more guys running together are almost always talking about work, usually using words like "client satisfaction", "volume increase", or "action items". This leads me to believe that guys who run in groups are mostly assholes. - A mixed gender group running together are almost always talking about the weather, or a movie, or general happenings of the day. From this I suspect that while running in a mixed group, the guy is half-listening while thinking about his pending "action items" while the girl is half-talking because she really has no investment in this guy and really wants to know why her boyfriend\husband\sig. other is a tool, but can't discuss it. No conclusions. I just think it is interesting. That, plus anything that will lower the volume of the voices inside my head is a good thing.

Part of my plan for taking care of myself was to go on a looong overdue vacation this past summer. We went for two weeks to San Francisco and Twin Falls Idaho, visiting friends I had met in Saudi Arabia. My friends' son Nick works as a herpetologist at the Herret museum (names after her dad) and he tried to show us this amethyst python outside which was supposed to show all kinds of colours in the sun. Unfortunately.. it was overcast!

My life before coming to the US consisted of going on holidays pretty regularly. In fact, the Dutch work to live, not live to work as it seems to be so much the case here. During the past ten years we went on short, three or four day trips but it was not a 'real' holiday. So my husband said, well, tell me where you wanna go and we'll go. Remembering the long hot summer last year, I opted for a place I figured would be cool, hence San Fran.

Getting back to the taking care part. I could tell that a lot of Austinites do take care of themselves. So many people exercise and run or walk and luckily, a lot of those people have all kinds of shapes and sizes and ages. No one needs to feel intimidated to start as one might would going to a gym where the beefcakes look for ...never mind, you get the idea.

Last year, I crashed big time after a long time of self neglect. Numerous stressors of moving to different states, trying to start a life making friends (phoo, that's never easy), having kids, bowling pretty much alone for the most part. And then after coming to Austin being chronicly sleep deprived.. my body said STOP and pay attention to ME!

Well, last year a little before Halloween, I started to experience major MAJOR anxiety and panic attacks. So much so that my husband took time off of work and the doctor put me on Lexapro. The medicine of course helped at some point, but then I noticed that I started to gain weight. The doctor dismissed it saying I was over 40 what can I expect? However, there is that variable of that little pill, if you're not one to be inclined to gain weight, you just don't all of the sudden do! Anyhow, after reading up more about the meds, I decided to stop (against the doctor's opinion) and taper off. My doctor did not want to deal with it so he told me to see a psychiatrist. Hmmm.. well, I did find someone I could talk with because if your body has been eating the wrong foods for a long time, it needs to be detoxified right? So with ten years of stresses. I could use a Harry Potter wand to siphen off a little stream of memory to put in the pensieve and relieve me from unhealthy thoughts or experiences but for now that pensieve is my counselor. I am almost of the medicine and talking with someone PLUS exercising ought to be a good combination.

I am going warp speed no more. EsPEcially when it comes to running. Give it a try.