BIKE: Mike
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: n/a (got a ride home from my boyfriend who had the day off)
WEATHER: partly cloudy, 16C, 19km/hr tailwinds there
WHAT I WORE: yoga capris, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
This has been an exhausting week. I've been getting between 4-6 hours of sleep per night all week, which has left me by Friday feeling really quite drained. Between spending time with my boyfriend and having my family come to visit and my daughter losing her last remaining soother and thus being unable to get herself back to sleep when she wakes up in the middle of the night, my sleep has been severely lacking.
So, this afternoon my boyfriend is picking me up from work and we're going to shove my bike into the trunk. Then we're going to drive to the amazing French bakery that I just recently discovered in town, called Duchess Bake Shop (at 124 St and 107 Ave), and pick up some dessert. Then we're going to pick up my daughter and have some barbecued steaks, arugula salad, and delicious French pastries for dinner. And then, if everything goes according to plan, I will pass out in my warm comfy bed at 9 pm and sleep for a solid 10 hours. That will be amaaaaazing!
I am desperately looking forward to this.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Week 43 - Day Four: Body Image
BIKE: Mike
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: 26 min.
WEATHER: clear, 16C, no wind there; a few clouds, 25C, 9 km/hr crosswinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
Out of nowhere, today I woke up with a deep sense of satisfaction with my body just as it is right now. Let's not kid ourselves here, I still have plenty of weight to lose: I'm still well into the "Obesity" range according to the BMI charts, I'm somewhere around a size 14-16, and no matter how much muscle I claim to have on my 5'4, 192-pound frame, it's still buried under a solid layer of fat.
And yet, today it feels like that doesn't really matter. My boyfriend has commented before: "You're not really self-conscious, are you?" And it's true, for the most part I'm really not. Yeah, put me in a bathing suit in a public setting and I might feel a bit nervous, but most days I'm pretty self-assured. I know that having thick thighs doesn't negate my kick-ass sense of humour, and that having belly fat makes me no less competent as a psychologist and academic. I know my daughter will always love me regardless of my weight because I adore her and raise her as best I can. My family will always love me. Regardless of wherever I'm at with my vastly fluctuating weight, I've never had too much of a problem attracting partners. So what the Hell would be the point of feeling bad about myself?
Sometimes I get hard on myself about not losing more weight during this year of bike-commuting. I get fed up that I'm doing all this physical activity and I've still only averaged a weight loss of 4.4 pounds a month since I started nine months ago. And then there are other days, like today, when I feel like I would be perfectly content to weigh exactly what I weigh right now for the rest of my life even while exercising 1-2 hours a day, five days a week. Especially if that amount of exercise means that I'll never have to go on another restrictive diet again for the rest of my long life. If I can enjoy my food and enjoy my exercise and find some balance in my life with that and work and family life and everything else that occupies me, I'd be happy to spend the rest of my life with thick thighs and belly fat. It's a small price to pay for the unadulterated joy I get from enjoying a really good meal out with a friend, or throwing back a Slurpee on a hot summer day.
I can't say I feel like this every day, but today it's so worth it!
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: 26 min.
WEATHER: clear, 16C, no wind there; a few clouds, 25C, 9 km/hr crosswinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
Out of nowhere, today I woke up with a deep sense of satisfaction with my body just as it is right now. Let's not kid ourselves here, I still have plenty of weight to lose: I'm still well into the "Obesity" range according to the BMI charts, I'm somewhere around a size 14-16, and no matter how much muscle I claim to have on my 5'4, 192-pound frame, it's still buried under a solid layer of fat.
And yet, today it feels like that doesn't really matter. My boyfriend has commented before: "You're not really self-conscious, are you?" And it's true, for the most part I'm really not. Yeah, put me in a bathing suit in a public setting and I might feel a bit nervous, but most days I'm pretty self-assured. I know that having thick thighs doesn't negate my kick-ass sense of humour, and that having belly fat makes me no less competent as a psychologist and academic. I know my daughter will always love me regardless of my weight because I adore her and raise her as best I can. My family will always love me. Regardless of wherever I'm at with my vastly fluctuating weight, I've never had too much of a problem attracting partners. So what the Hell would be the point of feeling bad about myself?
Sometimes I get hard on myself about not losing more weight during this year of bike-commuting. I get fed up that I'm doing all this physical activity and I've still only averaged a weight loss of 4.4 pounds a month since I started nine months ago. And then there are other days, like today, when I feel like I would be perfectly content to weigh exactly what I weigh right now for the rest of my life even while exercising 1-2 hours a day, five days a week. Especially if that amount of exercise means that I'll never have to go on another restrictive diet again for the rest of my long life. If I can enjoy my food and enjoy my exercise and find some balance in my life with that and work and family life and everything else that occupies me, I'd be happy to spend the rest of my life with thick thighs and belly fat. It's a small price to pay for the unadulterated joy I get from enjoying a really good meal out with a friend, or throwing back a Slurpee on a hot summer day.
I can't say I feel like this every day, but today it's so worth it!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Week 43 - Day Three: Family Visit (Drove)
My brother, his girlfriend, and their son (who is two months younger than my daughter) came to town last night for a short visit - they're leaving tomorrow morning. They arrived around 10 pm on Tuesday night, and I spent the couple hours I had before that making sure the place was relatively clean, freshly vacuumed, and that the guest bedroom in particular was functional for them.
My still-new boyfriend came over and stuck around long enough to meet them when they arrived. He did this, even though it made for a really late night for him, because he knew it meant a lot to me for him to meet my family (who, by the way, are objectively the greatest people of all time). It's always a big moment: the new boyfriend meeting the family for the first time. I put a lot of stock in it because I can't imagine being with someone who doesn't fit in with my family. They all got along really well, even though the meeting was quite short, and that was a huge relief to me. Way to jump that hurdle, old chap!
Because I wanted to leave as late in the morning as possible and arrive home as early as possible - even ducking out of work an hour early to maximize the amount of time I could spend with my family - I drove today. With no regrets. I got home shortly after 3 pm instead of 4:45, and I spent the whole rest of the afternoon and evening hanging out with my brother and his family. The little toddler cousins played and watched lame toddler movies and shared in their own strange conversations with each other (they way they converse is so cute given that language is so new to both of them!). We went to the Cheesecake Cafe for dinner. It's one of those establishments that was family-friendly enough to take the kids to while introducing the visiting adults to a restaurant they can only DREAM of in their hometown of Lloydminster. It worked out well. We all had belly-aches by the time we were through with it.
I love when family comes to visit. It'll be sad when they leave. These are the days that I desperately wish I were back in Regina, living in a city teeming with family and social supports. My daughter would have a relationship with her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandma. Sure, maybe Regina wouldn't be the best place for me to set up an ambitious private practice and become a millionaire (insert smirk here), but it would sure be wonderful to be around family. So, that begs the question (one I discussed at great length with my brother as we digested cheesecake): what's more important at this stage of my life, family or career? And if I can figure that out - and I think I can - where the Hell am I going to live when I graduate from this program?
Oh, the questions! None of which have easy answers.
My still-new boyfriend came over and stuck around long enough to meet them when they arrived. He did this, even though it made for a really late night for him, because he knew it meant a lot to me for him to meet my family (who, by the way, are objectively the greatest people of all time). It's always a big moment: the new boyfriend meeting the family for the first time. I put a lot of stock in it because I can't imagine being with someone who doesn't fit in with my family. They all got along really well, even though the meeting was quite short, and that was a huge relief to me. Way to jump that hurdle, old chap!
Because I wanted to leave as late in the morning as possible and arrive home as early as possible - even ducking out of work an hour early to maximize the amount of time I could spend with my family - I drove today. With no regrets. I got home shortly after 3 pm instead of 4:45, and I spent the whole rest of the afternoon and evening hanging out with my brother and his family. The little toddler cousins played and watched lame toddler movies and shared in their own strange conversations with each other (they way they converse is so cute given that language is so new to both of them!). We went to the Cheesecake Cafe for dinner. It's one of those establishments that was family-friendly enough to take the kids to while introducing the visiting adults to a restaurant they can only DREAM of in their hometown of Lloydminster. It worked out well. We all had belly-aches by the time we were through with it.
I love when family comes to visit. It'll be sad when they leave. These are the days that I desperately wish I were back in Regina, living in a city teeming with family and social supports. My daughter would have a relationship with her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandma. Sure, maybe Regina wouldn't be the best place for me to set up an ambitious private practice and become a millionaire (insert smirk here), but it would sure be wonderful to be around family. So, that begs the question (one I discussed at great length with my brother as we digested cheesecake): what's more important at this stage of my life, family or career? And if I can figure that out - and I think I can - where the Hell am I going to live when I graduate from this program?
Oh, the questions! None of which have easy answers.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Week 43 - Day Two: Mike's Back!
BIKE: Mike
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: 26 min.
WEATHER: max temperate 21.7C, min temperature 12C, mean temperature 16.9C, 1 mm precipitation (sorry for the vagueness, I forgot to record the weather for this post and have to go by historical data)
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, tank top, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
Last night I walked home after a busy day at work, picked up my daughter from daycare, took Mike's tire to the bike store to get the broken spoke fixed, went home and made/served/cleaned up after dinner, put my daughter to bed, then proceeded to get Mike ready to hit the road again. I put the tire back on, lubricated the chain, and put the seat that I had only recently transplanted onto Eastwood back onto Mike. It felt like a long and horrible day, but by the end of the evening I felt pretty damn good: I'd be able to bike again! It felt like it's been a while.
It was really nice to be back in the saddle, though I know I say this every time I have a break from biking and return to it. It certainly comes as no surprise. Still, I've really enjoyed switching on and off between walking and biking. Doing one for a while makes me crave the other, and so when I switch back and forth whenever I desire I feel perpetually grateful for whatever mode of transportation I take, and I never feel bored. This is a pretty damn good system, I have to say.
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: 26 min.
WEATHER: max temperate 21.7C, min temperature 12C, mean temperature 16.9C, 1 mm precipitation (sorry for the vagueness, I forgot to record the weather for this post and have to go by historical data)
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, tank top, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
Last night I walked home after a busy day at work, picked up my daughter from daycare, took Mike's tire to the bike store to get the broken spoke fixed, went home and made/served/cleaned up after dinner, put my daughter to bed, then proceeded to get Mike ready to hit the road again. I put the tire back on, lubricated the chain, and put the seat that I had only recently transplanted onto Eastwood back onto Mike. It felt like a long and horrible day, but by the end of the evening I felt pretty damn good: I'd be able to bike again! It felt like it's been a while.
It was really nice to be back in the saddle, though I know I say this every time I have a break from biking and return to it. It certainly comes as no surprise. Still, I've really enjoyed switching on and off between walking and biking. Doing one for a while makes me crave the other, and so when I switch back and forth whenever I desire I feel perpetually grateful for whatever mode of transportation I take, and I never feel bored. This is a pretty damn good system, I have to say.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Week 43 - Day One: Walkin' Fool
Last Thursday I managed to murder Eastwood. Since then, I've been faced with a conundrum: do I work over my lunch hours to make up for the extra time it would take me to walk, or do I spend $14 a day in parking and drive? Also, it begs the question: when the Hell are you going to get your damn bike(s) fixed??
I ended up walking last Friday and today, opting to work over my lunch hours (which is, admittedly, stressful and not the best idea given the high rate of burn-out in my profession). It's been lovely because the weather has been gorgeous, so it's given me the opportunity to get some fresh air and sun and really take in the river valley as I book-end my days with a lovely de-stressor. However, I don't see this being entirely sustainable - especially the working over lunch bit - so I need to get at least one bike fixed, and soon.
Mike's broken spoke will likely be much cheaper to fix than Eastwood's broken cassette, so I'll concentrate on that. I took the back wheel off last night and put it in the car so I'm reminded that right after I pick up my daughter from daycare I need to swing by the bike shop and get it fixed. Hopefully by tomorrow I can go back to biking. As much as I like walking, I'm starting to miss the speed and exhilaration I get from biking. I'm also afraid that the more time I spend away from biking, the weaker my thighs will get, consequently making it more difficult to return to the saddle when I finally do.
So - back to biking tomorrow? That's the intention. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy every bouncy step of my walking today.
I ended up walking last Friday and today, opting to work over my lunch hours (which is, admittedly, stressful and not the best idea given the high rate of burn-out in my profession). It's been lovely because the weather has been gorgeous, so it's given me the opportunity to get some fresh air and sun and really take in the river valley as I book-end my days with a lovely de-stressor. However, I don't see this being entirely sustainable - especially the working over lunch bit - so I need to get at least one bike fixed, and soon.
Mike's broken spoke will likely be much cheaper to fix than Eastwood's broken cassette, so I'll concentrate on that. I took the back wheel off last night and put it in the car so I'm reminded that right after I pick up my daughter from daycare I need to swing by the bike shop and get it fixed. Hopefully by tomorrow I can go back to biking. As much as I like walking, I'm starting to miss the speed and exhilaration I get from biking. I'm also afraid that the more time I spend away from biking, the weaker my thighs will get, consequently making it more difficult to return to the saddle when I finally do.
So - back to biking tomorrow? That's the intention. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy every bouncy step of my walking today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)