Friday, September 10, 2010

Day 93: rollin'

My poor gym buddy injured herself during our last work out, so I ended up not going to the gym yesterday.

Today was the first kiss of fall. I felt invigorated, renewed, ready to take out my bicycle, to get my roll on.

When I put on my workout shirt (the long sleeved one. hell yeah, fall) I felt out of shape, lethargic, and, as I gazed at my rolls in the mirror, sickened. We make sacrifices with every season. In the summer, I sacrificed my love of being busy and being surrounded. In the fall, I sacrifice the quietude of summer, the time to really invest myself into projects (such as this one). In the winter, what will become of me?

As I rolled down Ring Road and some obnoxious asshole honked at me and some more obnoxious assholes yelled to me, and some even more obnoxious assholes sped past me, I longed for summer. I longed for the empty Ring and the empty roads and the lack of fear I had rollin' around all summer long.

I took a left out of campus and went up Ring Road. I must admit that I was mildly terrified during the entire ride down Old Westport Road. The people at this school drive like morons. And the traffic was pretty wild, being a Friday at 5 p.m. and all. As soon as I went up Chase Road, however, I lost all sense of fear and loathing.

I coasted up Chase, enjoying the bitter strains of colder weather, the darker skies. I lost myself in thought as I rode up and then down Lucy Little. I could have kept on with that pace, that pavement forever.

As soon as I returned to Old Westport Road, anxiety returned. I immediately felt tired and heavy and lame. The hill completely winded me. I was biking s.o.o.o.o.o. s.l.o.w. and it made me feel pathetic. I had nearly mastered that hill by the end of the summer and now we're back to this?

I wish I could just work out and get really fit and then it would stay like that. What is the point of working out and building yourself up for 90 days only to lose it after 20? What kind of bullshit IS this, body?

This is why we can't have nice things.

Or look nice, in any event.

Tomorrow is hopefully a walk with Kate and other lovely fall things. While I love the fall so much, summer, know that I'm missing you hardcore right now. You and your empty roads.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Day 92: gym buddy reunion!

At the crack of 6:30 a.m., I awoke to meet my favorite gym partner, Olivia, at the UMD gym across campus.

Long gone are the days when I can take the two second trek to the gym from Aspen. Instead, I must traverse half the ring to get there. Next time, I will try jogging - get my warm up in there and get my heart rate up!

We started off with weights, then did a mile on the upright bike, a mile on the rowing machine, a mile on the reclining bike and a mile on the elliptical.

None of it was too difficult, which is nice. I am hoping to get back into my groove right quick. We plan to go to the gym 3x a week, which is nowhere near as much as I was going over the summer, but so much better than what I've been doing recently.

After our workout, we gorged ourselves on delicious omelettes and hashbrowns. But our healthy intentions were there, no?

I think the hardest part of this year is going to be controlling my eating. My schedule is so erratic and I don't have the means to cook for myself - which means that I end up eating from the cart (ugh, I'm sick of cold sandwiches and salads already) or from Res (which is delicious, but not healthy). And then I'm up so late that I get cravings for milkshakes and pizza and other such junk food. In other words, college happens, people.

I just need to be conscious about what goes into my body and make sure that I'm making somewhat healthy choices. That Nutri-Grain commercial about starting with one good choice and making good ones for the rest of the day has certainly caught my eye and I remind myself of this every time I reach for my UMass Pass.

Tomorrow: the gym!

Day 91: Back from hiatus!

My. God.

It has been far too long!

When I wrote "See you in September!" on Facebook a few weeks ago, I suppose I meant it literally.

I haven't been entirely sedentary, but mostly. Moving was absolutely a good work out. RA training....not so much.

Luckily, I am back in the groove.

Unluckily, it only took those few weeks for me to start feeling the nag of obesity and out-of-shape-ness loosening my once toned bod.

On this day 91, I went for my first bike ride since the day I moved to Pine Dale. Which was in August. Mid August.

Oh, bicycle, I missed you so!

I was planning on going up Chase Road and down Fisher, but once I got to Lucy Little, I knew that I didn't want to push myself too hard, so I went up Lucy Little and down to Old Westport Road. The bike ride wasn't super strenuous, but the last hill was kind of a killer. And it doesn't help that I still haven't taken my bicycle to the doctor [the gears don't shift properly].

I ended up doing 8 miles that way and then an extra lap around the Ring, for a total of 10 miles. Not too shabby for a flabby!