Artemisia's Journal

[Artemisia]

I've made several abortive attempts to document my eating/lifting/running habits in different places - LiveJournal, private text documents, paper journals, etc. What I've really been looking for was a place where I could publicly post my workouts, but also have the benefit of a community to keep me honest. I was excited to finally find this forum :)

I am 24 years old, about 5'2", and I weight about 110lbs. I'm currently training for my first marathon (May 30). I run five days a week and lift three days a week, but I'm experimenting with cutting my running down to four days a week because I just can't handle the strain of running 6 - 22 miles a day plus lifting weights. After my marathon, I'm hoping to focus more on lifting (right now, I lift mainly to keep my bones and joints strong for running).

Through most of middle/high school, I was a hardcore distance runner, but slacked off badly when I got to college. I lifted weights and did a moderate amount of cardio through the end of college, and I looked great. When I graduated, got a job, and started marathon training, I started gaining fat, especially around my hips and gut. I'm not sure why this is happening, but it's frustrating, because I had nice defined abs when I was doing LESS work, and now that I'm doing more, I have a gut. GRRRR. My guess is that some of this has to to with the fact that I have a sedentary job where I'm sitting at a computer for 8+ hours straight. It also could be the fact that I'm getting older. I also feel very bloated all the time, which is probably accounting for most of the gut-bloatage, and I suspect it has to do with the fact that I drink tons of diet soda (high in sodium) and don't drink nearly enough water.

Some immediate goals:
- Finish my first marathon.
- Increase lean mass.
- Get rid of flabby stomach and love handles.
- Drink more water.
- Drink less caffeine.

My current vices:
- Caffeine addiction. I drink a ton of diet soda throughout the day and lately I have fallen into the habit of picking up a small coffee at the White Hen in the morning before work. Usually it's one of those horrible sugary concoctions, but I'm trying to move down to straight coffee, then eliminate it altogether. I've quit caffeine once or twice before, and after getting through the withdraw, I'd find myself horribly depressed.
- I almost never keep junk food in the house, because if I do, I'll overeat.
- I'm really bad about keeping up my protein intake. I have a modest income and I live in a big (expensive) city, so meat is a luxury for me. I rely more on whey protein, beans, canned tuna, nuts, peanut butter, and eggs for protein instead. I'm especially bad about drinking whey protein regularly because it makes me feel bloated and sort of sick afterwards.

I'm in the process of revamping my lifting schedule. Previously, I had been doing everything on machines and wasn't getting anything out of it. I did real squats with a 45-lb bar yesterday for the first time ever and it was great :) I don't have a lifting partner, so it's hard for me to do things that would require a spotter.

I plan on making one post a day listing what I ate and did, editing each post as the day goes on. Hopefully this will keep me on track :) I'm looking forward to checking out the other subforums as well.

[wannaturnheads]

Some immediate goals:
- Finish my first marathon.
- Increase lean mass.
- Get rid of flabby stomach and love handles.
- Drink more water.
- Drink less caffeine.

My current vices:
- Caffeine addiction. I drink a ton of diet soda throughout the day and lately I have fallen into the habit of picking up a small coffee at the White Hen in the morning before work. Usually it's one of those horrible sugary concoctions, but I'm trying to move down to straight coffee, then eliminate it altogether. I've quit caffeine once or twice before, and after getting through the withdraw, I'd find myself horribly depressed.
- I almost never keep junk food in the house, because if I do, I'll overeat.
- I'm really bad about keeping up my protein intake. I have a modest income and I live in a big (expensive) city, so meat is a luxury for me. I rely more on whey protein, beans, canned tuna, nuts, peanut butter, and eggs for protein instead. I'm especially bad about drinking whey protein regularly because it makes me feel bloated and sort of sick afterwards.



I wish you the best and will continue to check out your posts, but I did want to comment on two things...one, I myself, was a caffeine junky-diet Mt. Dew and Diet Dr. Pepper. I started replacing them with plain coffee, and then, tea and now I have herbal/green tea usually only in the morning. It's hard work, but you can wean your body off of the caffeine so that you don't get that withdrawal/depression all at once. Plus, the artificial sweeteners are much worse for you than you think....Good luck with that, I'm sure you can do it. I also think that tasting things that are sweet or made with artificial sweeteners only cause you to crave that taste more. Once you get a good diet established that's balanced, all of that will disappear. I'm not saying you won't want a dessert now and then, but you'll be surprised. Also, I have recently gone back to a more natural diet and have done tons of research on protein contents, etc. It is very possible to obtain more than enough protein with items such as nuts, seeds, eggs, and beans/lentils. It is extremely cost-effective too. I can buy an entire pound of lentils for around $1.00 and eggs for $1.63 for 2 1/2 dozen. Compare that to buying lean steak and chicken, and it's unreal. So, there are definite ways around purchasing meat and I think you'll feel a lot better obtaining it from those sources which include good carbs and fiber. Best wishes.

[Artemisia]

2005 April 12
-----------------

7:00am, I ate a small whole-wheat tortilla with a slice of turkey, some baby spinach, some green bell peppers, and wasabi mustard (weird breakfast, I know). I also had about a teaspoon of unsalted peanut butter and a can of diet coke. I took a multivitamin, a calcium suppliment, and some St. John's Wort.

9am, got a 16-oz coffe from the White Hen that was half Chai Latte and half black coffee.

11am, had a can of diet coke.

12:30pm, had a sandwich that consisted of two slices of whole wheat bread (I make my own bread), three slices of turkey, some baby spinach, green bell peppers, fresh mozarella, wasabi mustard. Also drank a large glass of water.

3:50pm, had another diet coke :( My legs and butt hurt from lifting yesterday. I feel bloated to the point of pain from lunch, and I suspect it's the cheese so I'll try cutting that out of my sandwich tomorrow. I found a recipe in another thread for protein bars, so I'm anxious to pick up some more eggs and peanut butter on the way home from work and make some so I can have something to snack besides my usually nuts and seeds. I have a six-mile run after work today at a moderate to hard pace, which I'm probably going to do on the treadmill in the basement of my apartment building since the weather is so nasty. I admit, I've come to prefer running on the treadmill because it's easier to gauge my pacing, and I can just listen to music and zone out and relax.

6:30pm, ran 6 miles along the lakefront because I forgot to charge my iPod and I can't stand treadmill running without music. It had stopped raining, but was cold and windy (typical Chicago weather). My quads and butt were killing me and I struggled to keep the pace up.

8:00pm, 2 scoops of whey protein in water. Also had some beans/rice/veggies.

9:00pm, a slice of wheat bread and peanut butter. Green jasmine tea. A glass of water and vitamin C and DMAE. I didn't let myself have any soda after work, woohoo.

[Artemisia]

I wish you the best and will continue to check out your posts, but I did want to comment on two things...one, I myself, was a caffeine junky-diet Mt. Dew and Diet Dr. Pepper. I started replacing them with plain coffee, and then, tea and now I have herbal/green tea usually only in the morning. It's hard work, but you can wean your body off of the caffeine so that you don't get that withdrawal/depression all at once. Plus, the artificial sweeteners are much worse for you than you think....Good luck with that, I'm sure you can do it. I also think that tasting things that are sweet or made with artificial sweeteners only cause you to crave that taste more. Once you get a good diet established that's balanced, all of that will disappear. I'm not saying you won't want a dessert now and then, but you'll be surprised. Also, I have recently gone back to a more natural diet and have done tons of research on protein contents, etc. It is very possible to obtain more than enough protein with items such as nuts, seeds, eggs, and beans/lentils. It is extremely cost-effective too. I can buy an entire pound of lentils for around $1.00 and eggs for $1.63 for 2 1/2 dozen. Compare that to buying lean steak and chicken, and it's unreal. So, there are definite ways around purchasing meat and I think you'll feel a lot better obtaining it from those sources which include good carbs and fiber. Best wishes.

Thanks for the advice :) I hear you on how bad artificial sweeteners can be... I'm also hoping to switch to coffee and teas and then just tea.

I make HUGE batches of kidney beans/veggies/brown rice, which I love. I feel like I could never get tired of it because you can make it so many different ways. It costs practically nothing, too.

[mizone]

Hello! Congratulations on starting a journal and good luck with it!

I dont know how much soda you are drinking but I am with you on this one! I have had 2 days with no coke! I still have a morning coffee but just tryiong to have nothing else during the day. So I wish you luck and will check in on your journal!

[Artemisia]

2005 April 13

7:00am, ate half a cup of oats with a scoop of protein powder mixed in. 23 g of protein total here. I was going to go for a second scoop, but the consistency was so soupy and gross that I just couldn't do it. :P It actually wasn't so bad, but not exactly the most pleasant thing to be shoveling into your face first thing in the morning. I also took a multivitamin, calcium, and St. John's Wort. Then I had a diet coke. Baby steps, I guess. Goal for this week is to not have any after work. My legs still hurt from monday's workout, which makes me happy because I'm actually getting something out of lifting weights instead of just putzing around on the machines for an hour. I'm planning on following this guide: http://www.stumptuous.com/program4.html and adding in more things as I'm able to handle them. At first I thought that the leg day seemed awfully easy, but after I did the squats, lunges, calf raises, and some abs, I felt too worn out to do the deadlifts.

9:00am, coffee

1:00pm, lunch at subway, a chicken ranch wrap with lettuce, onions, and green peppers. 41 grams of protein from this, though I probably should have asked for no ranch dressing. I also had Diet Pepsi.

6:30pm, went to the gym to more or less do chest, shoulders, and triceps:
- triceps extensions (dumbbell): 10@15lbs, 6@20lbs, 8@20lbs
- bench press (just the 45lb bar): 8,8,10
- dip assist: 10@40lbs resistance, 6@30lbs, 6@30lbs
- shoulder press (machine because I couldn't lift the bar): 6@37.5lbs, 10@25lbs, 7@25lbs (note that I hate using this machine because it's designed for tall people and I cannot acheive proper form. I tried doing these with dumbbells but Bally's sucks and everything under 25lbs had disappeared at that point)
- upright row (just the 45lb bar): 8,6,6
- side crunches: 3x12
- leg lifts (or, at least, that's what I call them): 3x10
- close grip bench press (just the 45lb bar):8,4 (failed)

hopefully in the coming weeks I can continue to revise this routine.

after lifting, ate a Body for Life bar (ended up getting a ton of these off of ebay for less than 50 cents each; they have about 15g of protein.

8:00pm, made up some crazy concoction involving a cup of leftover rice/beans/veggies, 1/5 a block of tofu, and two egg whites. Not sure how much protein I got out of it, but hopefully a decent amount.

9:00pm, half a cup of cottage cheese and a small spoonful of peanut butter. I also made some protein bars according to the awesome recipe I found here, so I'll probably be tasting those once they've hardened up :P

YARRRR I AM STILL HUNGRY. I get so hungry after I lift. I don't know if I should eat more or my stomach just doesn't realize that it's had enough. I'll drink some tea and sleep on it, I think.

10:30pm, water, vitamin C, and DMAE. Need sleep.

[Artemisia]

I was actually disappointed to wake up without any upper body pain this morning from lifting. Granted, I've been lifting regularly for about a month now, but if I don't hurt the next morning then I feel like I must not have been trying hard enough.

7:00am, my homemade protein bars didn't seem to solidify, so I scraped a bit of the gelatenous mess out of the pan and ate what I figured was about a serving. It's very dense and filling and I have no desire to eat any more, at least for a couple hours. Maybe I ate too much of it? It didn't taste all that bad, actually. I'm out of whey protein though and need to remember to pick some up after work tonight. I also took a miltivitamin, calcium, St. John's Wort, and finished a whole carafe of water that I keep in the fridge.

9:00am, coffee. Oh, White Hen, with your ugly rows of burnt industrial coffee pots and baskets of overripe bananas and irritable cashiers with indecipherable midwestern accents <3 <3 <3

12:00pm, sandwich - two thin slices of wheat bread, some turkey, baby spinach, green peppers, wasabi mistard. I had a girl come in to shadow me for two days as part of a mini-internship and she sent us a box of cookies as thanks. I ate three :P They're making me keep it on my desk and it is sitting there, taunting me.

2:00pm, went for a short walk and ate a Body for Life bar. I'm scheduled for an 8-mile right tonight. Friday is my "pull" day (still need to write up a managable list of what to do). Saturday I have a long run of 22 miles. This is about 3.5 hours of running. I usually take two energy gels with me, and this time I'm going to try running with a water bottle. Sunday, a 3-mile maintenance jog to make sure my legs don't tie up. I'm not used to eating cookies so my stomach isn't happy right now.

[terracotta]

I switched to 3 halfcaf cups a day and actually found that I feel better. Without coffee I can't do math.. lol.. and I have a tendency to get extremely drowsy. With too much coffee I get way drowsy.

If you are working out consistently with less than 4 days between the same workout you shouldn't get bad doms. I still get doms but my workouts are 8-9 days apart.

[Paichka]

Artemesia,

One thing about the oats + protein...my protein powder makes my oatmeal soupy as well, so I started mixing my protein with my skim milk instead and pouring it over cereal. MUCH better. I think it's just whey protein in general -- my Met-RX metomyosin protein never made my oats soupy -- I'M SO ordering more as soon as I'm through this current batch.

Your workouts are looking good -- I know how you feel though about the "if I'm working hard, it should hurt the next day" mentality...I still get that. I bust my butt at the gym (literally on leg day :-D) and wake up the next morning chipper...until I try to run, that is. Ahhh I miss the days when the morning after my lifts I couldn't lift my arms above my head to wash my hair...;-)

My mom sent me two pounds of starbucks though...my new morning ritual after I workout is to drink a HUGE travel cup with fat free hazelnut creamer & splenda while futzing around on the Internet. If only you guys knew what we soldiers REALLY do with your tax dollars...(j/k)

keep it up!
Sunny

[Artemisia]

I switched to 3 halfcaf cups a day and actually found that I feel better. Without coffee I can't do math.. lol.. and I have a tendency to get extremely drowsy. With too much coffee I get way drowsy.

If you are working out consistently with less than 4 days between the same workout you shouldn't get bad doms. I still get doms but my workouts are 8-9 days apart.

I feel like I can't concentrate without caffeine, and my mind is all over the place and I'm irritable or sad.

Too much caffeine makes me psycho and paranoid :P

[terracotta]

I feel like I can't concentrate without caffeine, and my mind is all over the place and I'm irritable or sad.

Too much caffeine makes me psycho and paranoid :P

actually.. by the drowsy part I meant from coming off of the caffeine when it wore out at 2 pm then again at 6 pm.

My body is very used to coffee. I can have 2 large Tim's(16 oz) a day and not get psycho. I think I would need an extralarge for that. Way back when I started drinking coffee a medium coffee would give me shakes.

Anyways, I had been gradually upping my intake of caffeine and realized it wasn't helping me. 3 halfcaf (12 oz) coffees are now enough for me a day. I have them 4 hours apart.

I am doing a MSc in applied math. Without the coffee I would fail everything.. I really really need coffee to do math. And now I am reading scientific journals.. need it for that too.

[mizone]

My mom sent me two pounds of starbucks though...my new morning ritual after I workout is to drink a HUGE travel cup with fat free hazelnut creamer & splenda while futzing around on the Internet. If only you guys knew what we soldiers REALLY do with your tax dollars...(j/k)

keep it up!
Sunny

Your Bad! hehehe

Just checking in Art :)

[Artemisia]

Hmm, looks like I can't edit yesterday's posts. I guess I need to do a better job of updating at the end of the day.

I went running after work yesterday, 8 miles at an 8:30 pace. I ended up getting the runs afterwards, appropriately enough. I think I wasn't hydrated enough.

Afterwards, I ate a banana (I had been waiting for them to ripen for days and they were driving me nuts), and had some homemade protein bar stuff, drank 3/4 of the carafe of water, then promptly fell asleep. Whoops.

-----
2005 April 15

Today, around 7:00am, I had a banana, some protein bar stuff, a couple almonds, about half a carafe of water, a multivitamin, St. John's Wort, DMAE, calcium, and vitamin C. I take a lot of vitamins and herbal mood enhancers, heh. I try to split them up because I think the vitamin C will interfere with calcium and/or vitamin D absorption. I swear by St. John's Wort/DMAE. Even if it is just a placebo effect, I don't care because I'm much less prone to bouts of depression/self pity and my concentration is a lot better when I take them. Added bonus of DMAE is weird freaking dreams :P

9:00am, coffee. There is one cookie left from yesterday, sitting on the filing cabinet between my desk and the kid's next to mine, TAUNTING ME. Note that I will probably eat it, my reason being that I need to load up on carbs for tomorrow's run. Which I do. Heh.

11:00am, some almonds

12:30pm, sandwich, turkey on two thin slices of whole wheat bread with baby spinach, green peppers, and wasabi mustard. Also a can of diet coke.

[Artemisia]

Artemesia,

One thing about the oats + protein...my protein powder makes my oatmeal soupy as well, so I started mixing my protein with my skim milk instead and pouring it over cereal. MUCH better. I think it's just whey protein in general -- my Met-RX metomyosin protein never made my oats soupy -- I'M SO ordering more as soon as I'm through this current batch.

Your workouts are looking good -- I know how you feel though about the "if I'm working hard, it should hurt the next day" mentality...I still get that. I bust my butt at the gym (literally on leg day :-D) and wake up the next morning chipper...until I try to run, that is. Ahhh I miss the days when the morning after my lifts I couldn't lift my arms above my head to wash my hair...;-)

My mom sent me two pounds of starbucks though...my new morning ritual after I workout is to drink a HUGE travel cup with fat free hazelnut creamer & splenda while futzing around on the Internet. If only you guys knew what we soldiers REALLY do with your tax dollars...(j/k)

keep it up!
Sunny

I've been using chocolate Designer Whey for awhile because it seemed like the least vile-tasting. I'm mostly lactose intolerant, but I can handle it in small amounts (whey protein, small portions of cottage cheese).

Haha, I remember the first time I lifted weights with my upper body, about a year or so ago... I woke up in a panic because I had no idea how I was going to get dressed for class or work that day.

I'm weird, I drink my coffee black but I absolutely cannot drink tea without a shot of soy milk in it :P

[Artemisia]

Eep! I've been bad about updating.

To continue:

----

2005 April 15

Went to the gym and lifted:
deadlifts | 10 (just the 45lb bar), 2x10 (bar + 5lbs)
pullups assist | 6@40lbs, 8@30lbs, 5@40lbs
bent over rows | 10@15lbs, 2x10@20lbs
dumbbell curls | 3x10@15lbs
back hyperextensions | 3x10 holding 10lb plate
"leg raises" | 3x10
ab exercise where you hang from that thing that leans you back at a 45 degree angle and raise your legs to your chest | 15,12,12 (working the sides this time)

I honestly can't remember what I ate, but I think it involved beans/rice/tofu and probably a banana afterwards.


----

2005 April 16

Woke up and ate a body for life bar and drank some water.

Ran 22 miles, during which I consumed two Power Gels (one at mile 10, another at mile 16) and drank some water. This was the first time I had ever run with water, but I don't like having to rely on the water fountains dotting the lakefront because you never know whether they're working or someone decided to use one as a urinal or what. The water bottle was awkward to carry, but I taped my gels to it and sort of cradled it like a football and kept passing it from arm to arm to even out the load. At first, I had to force myself to drink every couple of miles, but during the last five miles I was stopping every ten minutes to take a sip. All in all, I probably drank about 16oz of water. Drinking + energe gels make long runs so much more comfortable. I also had my ipod, but the constant jarring actually made the batteries drain after 15 miles or so. Grrrrrr. I don't wear a watch for the long runs so I don't feel pressured to maintain a certain pace, but the entire thing took me less than 4 hours, which is good.

The sunscreen I put on before I left? I definitely sweat it right out, because I now have a horrible farmer's sunburn. I was wearing a t-shirt that's a little big on me so now I have these burn marks that stop right above my elbows. I don't really know how to even it out. I have very pale skin to begin with so this makes it all the more weird looking. It's raining today, so that elmiminates the possibility of "just go outside for awhile in a tank top and hope it evens out".

After running, I ate and ate and ate. Running 22 miles puts me at something like a 2000+ calorie defecit, so I consider that free reign to just eat all day. I ate: a couple bananas, a small frozen pizza, cottage cheese with a scoop of whey protein, beans/rice/tofu, some almonds and sunflower seeds, and I forget what else. Lots of water and a cup of coffee and a moderate amount of Diet Coke. My legs hurt badly afterwards, but that's to be expected.

[Artemisia]

17 April 2005

This was mostly a rest day. I've been grazing on food (Body for Life bars, cottage cheese with whey protein, almonds and sunflower seeds). I tried some stomach vacuums, since I read about them in another thread. I walked along the lake a little, hoping to fix the farmer's sunburn from hell, but it was too cloudy. I've got two chicken breasts thawing, one for dinner and another to cook so I can eat it in a wrap at work tomorrow.

Dinner was about one chicken breast that I cooked in the remainder of some low-carb Italian dressing I had in the fridge, plus some spices.

I ate way too much ice cream for dessert because I was in a really crappy mood. Ah well. Not worth beating myself up over.

[Emma-Leigh]

Hello and Welcome! :D

Are you following any particular training protocol for your marathon - such as progressive distance training? And are you working with anyone about getting you set on a good diet so you maximise your glycogen and increase the distance you last before you 'hit the wall'??

Anyway - Good luck - I hope you continue to post here!

[Artemisia]

2005 April 18


I wanted to wake up early and get a short run in, but that didn't happen. I had a Body for Life bar and a banana for breakfast. I also took a multivitamin, calcium, St. John's Wort, DMAE, and vitamin C (went to bed last night without taking my evening vitamins, so I've lumped them all together this morning to catch up). Also got a coffee before work.

I am feeling gross and crampy because my period has started, and I'm dreading the thought of doing squats this evening. I really need to see about getting put on Seasonale. Oddly enough, I don't feel super bloated like I usually do when I have oatmeal for breakfast. It must be fiber and carbs that are bloating me all the time. Frustrating, though, because I need them for running.

11:00am | Almonds.
12:00pm | Lunch. two small wraps I made out of whole wheat tortillas, leftover chicken, spinach, and green peppers. Also a Diet Dr. Pepper.
2:00pm | A few more almonds.
6:30pm | Lifting at the gym. I felt like I wasn't lifting nearly enough. Everything felt so easy even though I increased both the weight and the number of reps from last week. Is it normal to improve so quickly? I've never, ever had this happen before. I almost feel disappointed because I didn't push myself to exhaustion.

squats: 10@just the bar, 10@bar+10lbs, 10@bar+10lbs
stiff-legged deadlifts: 10@bar, 10@5lbs, 10@10lbs (I had never done these before, so I was mainly trying to get my form down and figure out what my threshold was. I didn't feel like the two 5-lb plates were enough, in the end.)
split-leg lunges: 16,13,10 with just the bar (My shoulders hurting/having trouble gripping the bar is mainly what was limiting me here. I think I get more out of doing these with dumbbells).
reverse lunges (15-lb dumbbells): 3x20 (would have used 20-lb weights, but couldn't find any)
calf raises (toes straight, toes in, toes out): 10,10,4@95lbs; 8,8,8@75lbs; 8,6,6@75lbs
lying leg raises: 5x10
power crunch 2000 machine (oh god what is this contraption): 10@10lbs, 10@20lbs, 10@20lbs
afterwards, had a body for life bar, beans/rice/tofu, a banana, and tonight's vitamins and such.

[Artemisia]

Hello and Welcome! :D

Are you following any particular training protocol for your marathon - such as progressive distance training? And are you working with anyone about getting you set on a good diet so you maximise your glycogen and increase the distance you last before you 'hit the wall'??

Anyway - Good luck - I hope you continue to post here!


Thanks :)

I had been running 6 miles a day pretty regularly when I decided (out of the blue) that I would run a marathon, so I started following this (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_4/130.shtml) guide. Basically, the weekly mileage builds up slowly, and every other weekend is a long run. I try to push the pace for the short runs, and the long weekend runs I do without a watch and go very slowly -- mainly I'm just trying to train my legs to handle the stress of running so far on those days.

I've been adjusting it somewhat to account for the fact that I also started lifting weights again and just don't have the time for long runs and weightlifting on the same day :P Right now, I'm running four days a week (or am trying to squeeze that in). Which doesn't seem like enough, but I've been getting through my extra long runs healthy and in one piece, so... we'll see. It's my first marathon so my goal is just to finish.

I probably don't pay as much attention to diet as I should. I try to eat often, and try to get a good mix of complex carbs, protein, and healthy fats. I think I've hit the wall a few times on my long runs - 5 or 6 miles to go, and my legs just feel like dead weights. The rest of me feels fine, though, so it's a weird sensation to be having. I ran xc and was a 2-miler in high school, so I'm more used to being really winded or feeling pukey at the end of a run than this.

[Artemisia]

2005 April 19


7:00am | Banana, body for life bar, and morning vitamins.
9:00am | Coffee.
10:00am | Raisin bagel. Blast you, Bagel Tuesdays.
12:30pm | Was going to eat the chicken wraps I had made, but we ordered out for a lunch meeting. I had about half of a chicken and vegetable red curry (the rest will either be dinner or tomorrow's lunch). Between that and the bagel, I'm completely stuffed. Scheduled for a 7-mile run tonight. Since we ate in, I didn't get to go on my usual lunch walk, so now I'm antsy and fidgety on top of that.
6:30pm | Ran 7 miles, pace ranged from 8:00 - 9:00. I ran on one of the treadmills downstairs and it was so unbelievably hot and stuffy.
8:00pm | Ate a body for life bar, and some almonds. I feel full.
9:00pm | Had a spoon of peanut butter, and the night's vitamins.

[Artemisia]

2005 April 20


7:00am | Morning vitamins and a can of tuna with wasabi mustard.
9:00am | Coffee.
12:00pm | Two small wraps from yesterday, about half a chicken breast on two whole wheat tortillas with baby spinach.
12:40pm | Eating some almonds/sunflower seeds.
7:00pm | Body for life bar. Just got home. What a long day of work.
7:30pm | Lifting at the gym:

bench press: 10@45lbs, 8@55lbs, 6@55lbs (yay for finally adding weight to the bar)
dip assist: 10@30lbs, 8@30lbs, 9@30lbs (slowly but surely improving. Soon I'll be doing them with my own body weight)
tricep extensions: 10@15lbs, 6@25lbs, 12@10lbs (the 20lbs dumbbell were nowhere to be found. I wasn't sure if I could do these holding a plate over my head or if I'd end up killing myself)
closed grip bench press: 8@45lbs, 6@45lbs, 5@45lbs
shoulder press (machine): 8@25lbs, 7@25lbs, 6@25lbs
upright row: 8@45lbs, 8@45lbs, 8@45lbs
lying leg lifts: 3x10
side crunches: 3x10 (for each side)
stomach vacuums: 50x3s (did these while walking home from the gym. The gym's about a half a mile away.)
9:00pm | Half a cup of oatmeal mixed with 2 scoops of whey protein, some blueberries, and a little soy milk. Also ate a spoonfull of peanut butter and had my evening vitamins.

[Artemisia]

2005 April 21, Thursday


7:00am | Half a cup of oatmeal with 2 scoops of whey protein, some (frozen) blueberries, and about a shot of soy milk. Morning vitamins.
9:00am | Coffee.
12:00pm | Leftover chicken/rice/vegetable curry from the other day.
2:00pm | Bagel and a bit of cream cheese.
3:00pm | Diet Pepsi.
6:30pm | Ran 8 miles at a pace ranging from 8:30 - 9:00.
8:00pm | Body for life bar.
9:00pm | Can of tuna with wasabi mustard.
10:00pm | I get really cranky when I have to bring work home with me. I feel like I'm being robbed of somthing (my time, and since I don't get paid for doing extra work, money) so I started eating out of frustration. I had another body for life bar and have been picking away at some frozen blueberries. I'm making tea so hopefully that will keep me from putting more food into my mouth. I have a feeling I won't be sleeping tonight. At least tomorrow's Friday.

[Paichka]

Hey just checking in! I love reading your journal, it's great to see another runner -- I don't know what I would do if I couldn't run...what marathon are you doing? I've never run one, but I'm totally planning on it when I get back.

Great workout! I find running on the treadmill mindless & soothing. Not as good as running by the canal at home, but hamster wheels are never going to beat the outdoors. :p

impressed! keep up the great work!
Sunny

[Artemisia]

Hey just checking in! I love reading your journal, it's great to see another runner -- I don't know what I would do if I couldn't run...what marathon are you doing? I've never run one, but I'm totally planning on it when I get back.

Great workout! I find running on the treadmill mindless & soothing. Not as good as running by the canal at home, but hamster wheels are never going to beat the outdoors. :p

impressed! keep up the great work!
Sunny

Thanks :D I'm running the Lakeshore Marathon (http://lakeshoremarathon.com/), which nobody ever seems to have heard of :P probably because when people think of marathons in Chicago, they think of the Chicago Marathon in October (which I think I also want to run). This is my first one ever. I decided to run it on a whim - I was bored at work one day and decided I needed some short term goals to work on because I've been in that post-collegiate rut (the "okay, I have a job, now what?" thing). I've more or less been on a 12-week training plan, which is going well, despite the fact that I cut the running back to 4 days a week. This'll probably let me finish the race, but if I want to start doing them competitively, I have no idea how I'd fit all that training into my schedule.

I was never a really good runner - I was probably above average when I ran XC in high school, never broke 20:00 for the 5k. I'm finding that I take much better to the longer distances, though.

[Artemisia]

2005 April 22, Friday


7:00am | Body for life bar, spoonful of peanut butter, morning vitamins.
9:00am | Coffee.
12:00pm | #12 from Jimmy John's - turkey, lettuce, avacado spread, sprouts, tomato, and cucumber on whole wheat. Jalapeno chips and a Diet Coke. I feel stuffed.

[Artemisia]

2005 April 22, Friday [continued]


6:00pm | body for life bar
6:30pm | lifting at gym:

deadlifts: 10@55lbs, 10@60lbs, 9@65lbs
pull ups (assist): 8@40lbs, 6@40lbs, 6@40lbs
bent over rows: 10@20lbs, 10@20lbs, 10@20lbs
curls: 10@15lbs, 10@15lbs, 10@15lbs (tried 20lbs but couldn't do it. I wish we had a dumbbell size between the two)
back hyperextensions: 10@10lbs, 10@10lbs, 10@15lbs
lying leg raises: 3x10
stomach vacuums: 50@3s
hanging/leaning backward leg raises: 15,12,15
power crunch 2k machine: 10@10lbs, 10@20lbs, 10@20lbs
8:00pm | Ate small frozen pizza, blueberries, vitamins, tons of tea.


------

2005 April 23, Saturday


8:00am | Ran 5 miles at a pace ranging from 7:50 - 8:50.
9:30am | Body for life bar, morning vitamins. I finally ran out of diet soda and am going to try to not buy any more. I am craving artificial sweeteners. ARGGGGH.
10:00am | spoonful of peanut butter and some tea (not mixed together, heh).
1:00pm | oatmeal, 2 scoops of whey protein, frozen blueberries, a bit of soy milk (mixed together).

[Artemisia]

I'm bad about updating on weekends :[ I've more or less forgotten what I've been eating. Mostly it's involved body for life bars, oatmeal, whey protein, chicken, bananas, blueberries, beans/rice/veggies. I haven't had any diet soda since Friday. I had some coffee yesterday and one today... I really need to get a coffee maker instead of paying way too much for it at the White Hen or, god forbid, Caribou. I've been drinking tea like crazy (I like to buy teas on clearance from Stash's web site, so I've got a lot of it stockpiled. Mostly black teas, green teas, herbal teas and chai.) I've also been drinking a ton of water, yay! One thing I've noticed is that I've been sweating like a pig. Is this from the tea? Or is it my body trying to readjust to being more hydrated? Who knows.

Today I ran 10 miles and I felt great. I was pushing the pace the whole way through; felt like I was doing steady 9:00 miles. Usually, on any run longer than 10 miles I tend to run at a conservative pace, but today, I was passing people left and right. So weird. This was my "off" weekend; I do really long runs every other weekend. Next weekend is 24 miles (I think). It's going to build to 26 miles, then a taper, then my race. I'm really getting anxious for it to be here. I want to see how I perform on running only 4 days a week and lifting 3 days a week. I've basically cut out all the recovery/maintenance miles.

[Paichka]

Do you drink a lot of green tea? That could have a thermo-effect on you if you drink it right before your workout.

Do you have a Teavanna near you? I miss those...*sigh* Just like a Starbucks (oh I miss Starbucks) but for tea instead...you could mix your own tea if you wanted from this huge WALL OF TEA behind the register. I used to mix Mate Vana with Rooibos Vanilla...man that was good.

Sorry, tangent. :)

Great workout, btw! We have a track that's 7 miles all the way around our base...you've inspired me to try running it today.

Sunny

PS -- I think you're a GREAT runner...your posted times are a bit faster than mine, they're giving me something to work towards. WHOO HOO for crazy running people. :D

[Artemisia]

2005 April 25, Monday


7:00am | Half a cup of oatmeal with two scoops of whey protein and some frozen blueberries. Morning vitamins.
9:00am | Coffee.
11:00am | Some almonds, roasted and salted. Usually I get raw almonds, but the store was out yesterday. Super busy day at work.
12:00pm | Two small wraps I made out of half a chicken breast, baby spinach, wasabi mustard, and whole wheat tortillas. I'm still hungry, yarrrr.
2:30pm | body for life bar.

[Artemisia]

I haven't been posting in my journal because my dad died unexpectedly yesterday during what should have been a routine kidney operation. I'm in New Jersey right now to be with my family.

[Krissypoo]

I haven't been posting in my journal because my dad died unexpectedly yesterday during what should have been a routine kidney operation. I'm in New Jersey right now to be with my family.

I'm so sorry to hear this. :( I can't imagine how hard this is for you and your family. You'll be in my prayers...

[Emma-Leigh]

I haven't been posting in my journal because my dad died unexpectedly yesterday during what should have been a routine kidney operation. I'm in New Jersey right now to be with my family.
That is horrible news, I am sorry for your loss.

[StlBarbie]

I will keep you and your father in my prayers!!!

[Artemisia]

Thanks everyone for the kind words and thoughts. His death was a huge shock to us, and it's definitely something you don't plan for at age 24. I thought I had a pretty good handle on mortality, but I'm doing a lot of reassesing of my life and relationships now, and a whole lot of thinking.

I went back to NJ for a week and a half to be with the family and take care of all the difficult death/funeral things. I only managed to go running twice and ate horribly (people kept bringing over so much food!). Time to get back into the swing of things.

Oh, and I wll never, ever leave dirty dishes in the sink before work any more. Ever. I came home yesterday and was hit with the most horrible stench on the face of the earth. Everything covered in mold! I bleached everything in the sink at least twice. Whey protein and cottage cheese and oatmeal produce the most vile and unholy pukey green mold known to mankind.

I ran ten miles yesterday, very slowly. It was hot out - looks like summer snuck up on Chicago when I was away.

2005 May 11, Wednesday



7:00am | Misc. protein bar that my mom had gotten somewhere and gave to me. Morning vitamins. Crappy breakfast but I still feel stuffed after a week of eating pie and cookies and stuff.
9:00am | Coffee.
12:00pm | Some almonds and two small chicken wraps - whole wheat tortillas, chicken breast, green peppers and onions. I cooked the chicken with red wine because I've had an opened bottle sitting around forever and I only drink it once in a blue moon. Turned out okay.
4:30pm | I'm EXHAUSTED and I'm not sure why. It feels like a post-sugar crash. Maybe my body is readjusting to not having simple carbs and sugar at every meal like I was last week. I'm sitting at my desk and fidgeting just to keep myself awake. Dunno how I'm going to make it till 5. SO tempting to go right to bed and take a nap, but I need to go lift.
6:00pm | Last Body For Life bar from my giant stash bought on eBay. I don't think I'll be buying any more. They were nice for protein but had a lot of sugar in them.
6:30pm | Lifting at the gym:

bench press: 10@45lbs, 8@55lbs, 8@55lbs
close grip bench press: 8@45lbs, 8@45lbs, 6@45lbs
dip assist: 10@30lbs, 8@20lbs, 7@20lbs (getting even closer to using all of my body weight)
tricep extensions: 10@20lbs, 8@20lbs, 7@20lbs
shoulder press (machine): 10@20lbs, 10@20lbs, 10@20lbs
upright row: 10@45lbs, 8@45lbs, 8@45lbs
lying leg lifts: 3x10
decline crunches:3x10, to the sides
hanging leg lifts (with legs straight):3x10
stomach vacuums: 10x4s
8:00pm | half a cup of oatmeal with a scoop of protein and some frozen fruit (mangos/cranberries)
9:00pm | Two spoonfulls of peanut butter, evening vitamins

[Krissypoo]

I'm glad to see you back! How are you doing? You're a strong girl to jump back on it...you should be proud of yourself!

[Artemisia]

I'm glad to see you back! How are you doing? You're a strong girl to jump back on it...you should be proud of yourself!


Thanks :) I haven't lifted in a week and a half so we'll see how I fare tonight. I'm hoping I haven't messed myself up too badly for the marathon, but I don't think finishing it will be too much of a problem.

[Artemisia]

2005 May 12, Thursday


8:00am | Half a cup of oatmeal with a scoop of whey protein and some frozen blueberries. Morning vitamins.
9:00am | Coffee.
12:00pm | Two small chicken wraps (same as yesterday) and a serving of almonds. I was trying to save them for an afternoon snack, but the chicken wraps weren't very filling.
6:00pm | Ran 5 miles at an 8:50 or so pace on the treadmill (weather has been icky). I felt surprisingly good.
7:30pm | Ate the remaining chicken I had cooked earlier in the week with ramen (bleh, I know, for some reason I was really craving it though) and three egg whites. Evening vitamins.
9:00pm | For some dumb reason, an old friend of mine from college and I decided to take pictures of our fridges and annotate them on flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kscully/) (uh, my fridge isn't normally that empty, heh). The end result was that I discovered I had about two spoonfuls of peanut butter left, which I finished off. I also had some herbal peach tea.

[Emma-Leigh]

Hey,

Good to see you back. I am in awe of your strength in getting back to your daily life so quickly... Wow.

Just take it easy on yourself ok... Stress is not helpful for training and you are probably a LOT more 'fragile' than you think at the moment. So if you are finding that you are too exhausted - cut training down a little.

Hope you are feeling well today.

[Artemisia]

2005 May 13, Friday


8:00am | Can of tuna with sesame vinegar salad dressing and a little soy sauce. It was really tasty. Also had morning vitamins and a cup of tea (double bergamot earl gray).
9:00am | Coffee.
12:00pm | Sandwich at Jimmy John's (turkey, sprouts, avacado spread, tomato, provolone cheese on wheat), jalapeno kettle chips, and diet Coke.

[Artemisia]

Hey,

Good to see you back. I am in awe of your strength in getting back to your daily life so quickly... Wow.

Just take it easy on yourself ok... Stress is not helpful for training and you are probably a LOT more 'fragile' than you think at the moment. So if you are finding that you are too exhausted - cut training down a little.

Hope you are feeling well today.

Thanks so much for the concern and advice! I'm just trying to take things one day at time (or one hour at a time, it seems). I'm trying not to drag any heartache into these forums soooo mainly I'm just keeping to fitness/food stuff here. Exercise has really been helping, actually - I sat around my mom's house for a week and a half, either moping around and feeling sad or catching up with the 179379791238 relatives who visited. But after that, my mom, sister and I realized that we needed to start getting back to our jobs and regular lives because sitting around and feeling bad all day was only making us feel worse. Being around family was really helpful -- I dunno if my family is just weird, or it's an Italian/Irish cultural thing, but any time there's a death in the family, after a couple of days of grieving, it's like a week of big family reunions - tons of food, 20 - 30 people over every day, lots of reminiscing about the good things we remember, lots of laughing and looking at hilarious old photos from when we were younger. Of course there are times of crying, but it's good and healthy to get that out too.

Uh... anyway... where was I...

Marathon's in a little over two weeks, so I need to get back on track for that. When I'd call my parents every week, I'd keep them updated on my long runs that were increasing every other week. My dad was always amazed by how far I'd be running, so I feel like keeping at it is a good way to honor his memory. I'm going through this transitional stage where I feel bad because I'm not grieving 100% of the day (i.e. like not being completely miserable means I'm forgetting my dad), but I think the best way to work through that (and not forget that person) is to keep doing things to honor their memory.

I am, however, looking forward to a little break from running after this race :P Need to rest the old knees. I'm amazed that I've been injury-free throughout this training -- I ended up with bad stress fractures in both legs one year of high school xc due to overtraining/running on concrete. Weight training has definitely been helping my legs out.

[MsJewels]

I'm so sorry to read of your loss, and am inspired by your amazing attitude. Your dad *would* want your to continue to achieve your goals - The goals that he was impressed by, and probably bragged to all his friends about! :)

My thoughts are with you. Sending my energy your way today!

[Artemisia]

Sorry I kind of dropped off the face of the earth :P

I ran my marathon on May 30. You may have heard about it in the national news -- it was a mile too long ( http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0506030169jun03,0,382798.column ). Heheh. My time for the 27.2 mile race was about 4:20; I estimated that my "real" marathon time was closer to 4:11. Not bad. I felt great and came home and immediately signed up for the Chicago Marathon this fall.

Big mistake. I'm pretty sure I have stress fractures now. I had them eight years ago, so I'd be totally shocked if this pain in my legs was something else. There's pain in both shins up near my knees, and my right foot hurts through my ankle. I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, and I'm terrified that I'm going to end up in a cast on my right leg because the pain is at a point right now where I'm having a hard time walking. If I end up in a cast, I'm screwed because I won't be able to cross train with swimming or biking, and I live alone in the city and have no idea how I'll be able to do things like laundry, food shopping, even getting to work (my commute involves a 0.25 - 0.5 mile walk each way, depending on whether I take the bus or train, and I carry a heavy laptop bag and my regular messenger bag) hobbling around on crutches.

I'm pissed because I already paid my Chicago Marathon entry fee, which is non-refundable, so now I'm out $100 :P

I hope that I just end up with a splint (which is what I had last time), because that way, I'll be able to swim at the gym and possibly do lower-body exercises (maybe not lunges, but squats seem like they're low-impact). If I'm in a cast, I guess I can... uh... do bench press for the next six weeks? :P How do you do cardio in a cast, anyway? Sit in a chair and wave your arms around for half an hour?

Blarrrrrrrghghghgh. We'll see what happens Wednesday.