Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

I'm fairly certain I emailed everyone I know, but just in case I missed you...

This summer I am participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. I'll be walking a marathon and a half all over the city of Chicago. But really the walk is not about the distance, it's about raising money for a good and necessary cause. Did you know that every three minutes, another woman in the United States is diagnosed with breast cancer?

As a walker, I've committed to raising $1,800, but I hope to raise much more! All the funds support medical research on the possible causes of and cure for breast cancer, education and early detection programs, and clinical care and support services for women with breast cancer in communities across the country. There is a special focus on helping medically underserved women, the poor, minorities, the elderly, or those with inadequate health insurance. And much of the money granted by the Foundation goes back to the communities where it was raised, supporting everything from local grassroots programs to national organizations.

You can make a donation online by clicking on the title of this post, or by copying/pasting the web addresses below into your browser. I realize money is often tight, but whatever you can give will help! Even small amounts add up to make a big difference. I truly appreciate your support. Thanks!

Personal page:
http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR/Walk2008/Chicago?px=3937236&pg=personal&fr_id=1450&s_tafId=261526

Team page for City Titty No Cancer Committee:
http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR/Walk2008/Chicago?team_id=43740&pg=team&fr_id=1450&s_tafId=261526

natural workout

so i was working out fairly consistently from january to may and lost about 20 pounds. since then i've gone running maybe 10ish times and gone biking 4. hm...

needless to say, i'm not keeping up with it well. i don't have a gym membership in chicago, so that's part of the reason. and when i first moved i worked days all the time, so i could run in the evenings (when i mustered up the motivation, and when it was a warm but not hot day). now that i work nights 3 times a week, that doesn't happen. and mornings are often out of the question because of teaching. when i DO have time to run, i don't have energy. plus, now it's getting colder and i can't breathe running in the cold. so basically, i'm screwed.

yet somehow, i haven't gained back any of the weight. i may have even lost more. i had to buy new jeans cause none of mine fit. i'm wearing my favorite khakis today and they're a bit baggy. really could have used a belt, too.how have i pulled this off without my gym visits?...

a#1 i'm so busy i don't have time to really eat.
b#2 when i DO eat, 90% of the time it's at the cafe where i work. this means i eat salads, soups, fruit parfaits, and sandwiches with lots of veggies. we use as many natural and organic products as possible, so this is probably the lightest and healthiest i've ever eaten in my life.
c#3 at the cafe, i'm always on my feet. i spend a 6-8 hour shift 4 times a week standing and walking around.
d#4 i live on the 3rd floor. not only do i go up and down every time i arrive and leave, but there are frequent extra trips for garbage, laundry, and large loads of groceries.
e#5 if i don't drive somewhere, i take the el or the bus. either option involves walking about half a mile. plus a similar walk when i get off in order to reach the destination. and then the trip home. so anywhere from 1-3 miles every time i go out using public transit.
f#6 if i drive but i get home past 7 or 8pm, parking on my block is a crapshoot. i usually end up parking on the south end of the park, meaning i walk about a half mile home. and the same back to the car the next day.

hell, who needs to workout? ever?!

pants

i would just like to say that i tried on my green express editor pants today. you know, THE pants. the ones i spent an awful lot of money on shortly after college only to find that by the following fall they were too tight. the pants that i tried to wear a year ago christmas only to discover they were not only tight, but unbuttonable. they're my skinny pants. my goal pants. the ones i refused to get rid of even when i got rid of alot of other clothes because i was determined to someday wear them again.

long intro to say... they fit.

this is summer. this is chicago.

15.6 miles
approx. 1770 calories burned

new job

why oh why am i not sleeping in right now? i woke up this morning around 6:15, 8:00, and finally 9:30 when i gave up cause it's so hot and sticky in my room. i think without teaching i'm finally on some sort of regular schedule. i go to bed around midnight (wha?? so early!) and get up around 7:15 so i can leave for work by 8. this is going to have to change once my real work schedule kicks in, which includes a few 4pm-11pm shifts...

meanwhile, it feels fabulous not to be stuck in an office. the cultural center and cafe are not open yet, because construction is not finished yet. but it's coming alone. they are working on the last room of the building (the cafe seating area) and yesterday put in the ceiling and almost all the windows. so i guess once that room is sealed off, we're down to paint, wood finish, dusting, flooring in the cafe seating, cleaning and finishing the floor everywhere else.... little things, but alot of them. HOPEFULLY that all gets accomplished next week so the cafe crew can stop pretending we know how to help with construction, and we can actually set up the cafe equipment and get to some training. i've literally spent my week climbing up and down ladders to dust the rafters and then to stain them. oh, except for yesterday when i was outside cleaning the giant grill that belongs to our funder. i am very sunburned.

it's also really wonderful to be working with people under age 30. i don't even know how old all my coworkers are, but i know we have no high schoolers, and everyone seems very young and vibrant and diverse and cool. i don't know that i'll end up with any lifelong friends out of this, like i did with working at the pool. but it's just nice to be around passionate people and not stuck in an office with people over 40 all day.

i feel like i had more to say about other things in my life. but now i've either forgotten them or don't know how to put them into words. so instead i think i'll get on with my day of making phone calls and packing and getting ready for the big move. yay chicago in a week!

i've had 3 people ask me in the last two weeks if i've been losing weight.

heck yes, i have.

:)

raising the stakes

i've had about a million thoughts racing through my head lately and just haven't had the energy to get them down. i swear if i had a tape recorder in my head, i'd be much better off. there's something wrong with the fact that i'm a writer, and that i mentally write all day long, but i can't ever seem to get my pen to paper (or fingers to keys, as the case may be.)

anyway, i'm going to try to catch up a little. i've given up on writing down the details of my workouts, mostly because i've gone at least 4 or 5 times since i last wrote in here. but i will try to update occasionally. my sister and were working out the other day, i had gotten there first and was on the elliptical when she walked up and said "how about a little bet?" in order to motivate ourselves, she thought we should each set some sort of personal goal to reach by august, and whoever meets/comes closest to their goal wins. the loser has to pay for a weekend away. somewhere within driving distance, but an overnight hotel, maybe spa type weekend for the two of us. sounds good to me, not i just have to not lose. :)

my sister's goal is weight loss related, but i decided to take a different route. my goal is to run a mile without stopping and without walking any of it. i have never run an entire mile in my life. i've been pretty consistently running quarter miles, and once or twice i've pushed myself to do a half. but never a whole mile. my sister thought i should add a time to that, so i'm trying to decide. what's a reasonable mile running time for a 24 year old female? i'm thinking somewhere around 9 minutes? i don't need to bust my ass and run a 6 minute mile or anything. yesterday on the treadmill i walked/jogged/ran a mille in about 15 minutes. so i think 9 is a reasonable jump away. spa weekend, here i come....

wrokout 6

i'm gonna post something REAL soon, i promise...

5 minutes abs
hips
rotators
chest press
shoulder press
free standing chest press
free standing triceps
leg press
11 minutes elliptical (random, i know. but it's .75 miles)

workout 5

now THAT was a workout

5 minutes abs
free standing triceps
free standing chest press
shoulders
10 minutes rowing machine
10 minutes elliptical
walk .25 mile
run .5 mile

yes. i ran a half a mile. i kicked my own ass. now let's see if i can do it again...

workout 4

weight: still 163
weight machines, weight machines, weight machines...
7 minutes stairmaster
5 minutes rowing machine
5 minutes elliptical
walk .25 mile

workout 3

7 minutes stairmaster
10 minutes rowing machines
weights weights weight, oh lots of weights
5 minutes elliptical
.5 mile walking

workout 2

1 nalgene of water (working on a 2nd...)
.25 mile walking
squats with medicine ball
10 minutes treadmill
5 minutes rowing machine
5 minutes abs
ab/adductors, rotator, triceps, glutes press, chest press, lateral press

AND i'm going to tap class tonight :)

workout 1

ok, so this is going to be more for me than for anyone reading this. but maybe posting it in a public forum will help keep me accountable for it. and i know alot of people are weird about sharing their weight with others, but... someone that has never really bothered me much. anyway.

i joined a fitness center. i'm not trying to lose 500 pounds or anything, i just want to be more in shape. have some stamina. flexibility. strength. (and maybe fit into those green express editor pants i bought right after college) so in addition to some hopefully more personal and interesting blogging, i'm going to try and keep a record of what i do and what my weight is and track my routine this way. at least for a few months.

weight 163
drank 1 cup and 2 nalgene of water
walked .25 mile
treadmill 10 mins
elliptical 10 mins
walked/ran .25 mile
rowing machine 3 mins
calf raises, hip ab/adductors, rotator, triceps, squats
100 crunches
floor stretches 10 mins

not a bad workout i think. hopefully i can keep this up and get those times and miles up too.