January Drag

Getting back into the swing of things has been rough this winter. Took Friday off, Saturday I was still feeling exhausted, and Sunday went to NYC. New York is a dangerous city in that I want to try every morsel of food I see! There is so much to taste and savor! I had a General Tso's "Chicken" wrap at 'sNice in the village. It was tasty but even better was the bite of my friend's "Triple Decker", basically a vegan club sandwich. It was AMAZING! I need to learn how to make it!

Today I dragged myself to a workout and was pleasantly surprised. I was convinced feeling miserable would mean a horrible workout. Started off the treadmill slow and worked my way up to a decent pace. It really helped to listen to a mood boosting standby, Killswitch Engage's 'Alive or Just Breathing' album. It never fails to pick me out of whatever self-pitying funk I'm in. Burned 280 calories in 32 minutes, and ran 2.98 miles. I'm easing back into my old pace and distances.

Did core workout for 30 minutes. My core workout is comprised of exercises I've learned over time. Little by little my "exercise vocabulary" builds. Magazines and fitness classes are where I've learned most of the stuff I do. The swim class I take has a 30 minute pilates session before it, and I've learned a few new exercises. I also love working with a medicine ball. I usually do Russian twists, bridge, and sit-ups with the ball.

Finally I did a half an hour of swimming. I did a few laps of "6 kicks on side", which is a drill I learned from my swim class. Laying on your side with an arm outreached, head looking down, you kick 6 times, bring the other arm forward as you switch sides and breathe, and repeat. It's a lot easier to do in the shallow LA Fitness pool with no one in it, rather than in the deep pool at the Weston Middle School with everyone swimming. I'm a little too impatient for drills, and spent most of the time swimming laps and concentrating on improving my form. I need to do drills though, since they help to make you concentrate on one aspect of your stroke/form at one time.

Stocked up on more fruits and vegetables! Lots of avocados, pears, apples and greens. I bought a rutabaga since they are huge and cheap, and hope to make a mashed rutabaga side my coworker made for me once. Also bought a butternut squash I plan on using for soup. For the train ride back from NYC I bought a copy of 'Vegetarian Times' which had a few recipes I'm excited to try. Hope to try at least one this week.