Time for a face lift…here’s our new look!
The last two weeks my job has kept me busy after hours. Never-the-less, my summer tennis partner and I are currently in second place in the league standings!
I’m looking forward to some R and R in August; we are vacationing in New Mexico with The Dipieros in a couple of weeks! Kids are coming too, but it will be nice to be away from SQL databases and web service troubleshooting.
I’m currently reading The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan, second book in The Wheel of Time.
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So, one more month to go before baby boy (aka Munchkin) is born. I am still working out (most weeks) 2 times a week. I am walking a mile on the treadmill and then lifting weights. This has really felt good the whole pregnancy up until the last few weeks. Now when I walk, I have constant hip cramping, and Braxton Hicks contractions. All very normal and nothing to panic about, just dang uncomfortable.
My motivation:
1. The mirror: The last month of pregnancy is not good on any woman. My hair is flat, I have cottage cheese thighs, my face looks swollen, I waddle, and I am storing fat for some reason in my arms. Yuck, on all accounts. The good news, this all went away really fast after I gave birth to Mai!!
2. The wedding: My sweet cousin is getting married on June 21st in Dallas, and I am a braids maid. Not only is this wedding around 5 weeks after delivery, it is going to be a huge affair. Call me vain, but I really want to look good in that strapless red gown.
3. The labor: I am really hoping that staying in shape and building muscles throughout this pregnancy will make for a fast delivery.
4. The food: I am trying to be better, but it is basically useless at this point. I want ice cream. I want cookies. I want cake. The good news, I never crave this stuff when I am not prego.
So, all in all I am doing ok, and trying to keep the workout regimen going. Wish me luck!
Summer
I completed day 15 of the Couch to 5K running plan last night. The instructions for day 15 are
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.
No problem, mostly. The first five minutes was the toughest—I think the knowledge that I was just starting out and that I had “so far” to go played into this though.
To give myself incentive to finish the Couch to 5K plan, I’ve entered the 2007 Race for the Cure® - 5K Run September 22nd. Anyone wishing to make a donation may do so here.
Hot, hot, hotter! That was the temperature, not my playing in the first tennis match on Saturday. The “first match jitters” killed me, but I warmed up quickly after that. My partner and I finished out 1 and 2 (1 win, 2 losses) for the entire weekend of the 2007 Lubbock Combo League.
The first match was a challenge mainly because I was serving very poorly. I felt we should have been much more competitive against this particular team. However, they did end up undefeated over the entire weekend.
The second match was a battle. After loosing the first set quickly, we battled back and I served to win the second set. The match went to a 10 point tie-break, which I again served to win!
The final match was another battle. Jerry and I were able to break the other team twice, but then they broke both of us, and then me again to win the first set easily. We were down 2-5 in the second set and then battled back to tie it 6-6. The tie-break happened quickly and we went down 4-7.
I ended the weekend with a list of things to work on—the first thing on the list is my serve. Also, I’m still working on the Couch-to-5K running plan. The next step requires me to run 20 minutes or 2 miles without stopping!
I’ve got Gatorade and clean socks. Sound like I’m getting ready for a sock-hop marathon? No, just a tennis match. This will be my first USTA event, the 2007 Lubbock Combo League. The entire event occurs in a single weekend. I’m entered in the Men’s 6.5 Flight. My team has practiced together twice. After meeting my doubles partner, Jerry, I feel confident that we’ll win at least a few matches…if I can hold serve at least some of the time.
Summer and I will both be participating in the 2007 Lubbock Adult Fall League. I’m in the Men’s 3.0 Flight, and Summer is in the Women’s 2.5 Flight. This is Summer’s first time to play tennis competitively. She is receiving tons of compliments about how fast she’s picked up the game…and everyone wants her on their team!
I weighed 202 lbs. this morning. This is down from between 220-225 lbs. (I’m not really sure where I started). I have to attribute most of the weight lost to exercise and cutting out soft drinks. Summer does a great job of consistently preparing healthy meals, and I have attempted to eat healthier…but I haven’t been religious about it. My goal at this point is to reach 190 lbs. At that point I’ll be able to wear some clothes that haven’t fit in a few years (I wonder if they’re still in style). I’m already able to wear t-shirts that are size large, and my jeans are fitting pretty loosely.
I just discovered a set of podcasts designed to be listened to while going through the Couch-to-5K running plan. There is a new podcast for each week of the plan. It has music, and tells you when to walk…and when to run. This is great for anyone who doesn’t like to watch the time while they are running.
After completing the first two weeks of Couch-to-5K, I got sick and took a week and a half off. I’m back on it this week!
Is anyone else running?
I’ve created a small browser application to track individual progress on the Couch-to-5K Running Plan. It can be downloaded to your Mac or PC and will remember your checked off items for up to 1 year. I created this because I was frustrated by the format of the layout of the chart and the inability to check items off as I progressed. I tried printing the existing chart out, but it annoyingly lapsed over the page break. Here’s how you use it:
- Check out the demo page.
- Like it? Ok…download the zip.
- Double click the file you just downloaded to unzip it.
- Put the enclosed file name “Couch-to-5K.html” anywhere you would like (I keep mine on my desktop for easy access).
- Open the “Couch-to-5K.html” in your favorite browser—
it won’t work in Safari, so I’m sorry if it’s your favorite browser.It doesn’t work in Safari 2, but it does work in the Safari 3.0 Beta (free download for Mac or PC). - Check off each item as you complete it. The plan is designed to last 9 weeks, the checklist will remember what you checked off for up to 52 weeks…so make sure you finish before then!
- Enjoy being in better shape!