fierce as ever

today's route: through the luscious spring gardens of rich cantabs

i went running today since the last couple days have been foiled. on wednesday i forgot my swimming goggles, and on thursday i had to get blood taken for a lab test and i was going all over tarnation anyway. i wasnt as hardcore as to walk up all the stairs at porter sq station, but i did walk up and down the escalating steps. and also walked a bunch last night around the theatre district because a certain obnoxiously pretentious place didnt open their doors when they said they would.

thursday was measurement day and, well, at least i didnt worsen my condition. most everything seemed the same; though i did measure 1/2 inch off the hip and the thigh. maybe my tape methods are wonky, but it would make sense since i am pumping my guns after months of sitting on my duff. woo, i guess. i was hoping that my waist would have shrunk a bit, but not yet.

i saw some pix of myself (from another photographer) from yesterday's booksigning excursion and i am just appalled at how unfit i have become. i think i have been steadily getting worse after (1) moving out of college (more fattening meals, but more all-over campus activity), (2) moving out of s-p (gym in-house, the occasional walking up 8 flights of stairs), and (3) getting depressed about life and future (last few months in particular) and having super low-esteem.

i still remember one occasion that sticks out in my mind. first year at MIT, and i was just MIFFED at person/event/indignation. i dont even remember the details, but i red-facedly pummeled it out on the treadmill, with each step imagining kicking the person in the back. WITH FEELING. maybe i should do that more. it was pretty awesome. and more constructive than weeping and eating chocolate.

i have a way to go, but it's not infinite. just to be active each day and remember that i can do it! it's not possible that my best days are behind me, is it? [thinking that my best-looking days were probably around college graduation, when i was, so to speak, a hot mama...)

arghhh. phooey! i knew i forgot something when i rushed out of the door this morning. i was planning to go swimming, so i have my suit, flipflops, contact lenses, combo lock... but i neglected to bring my goggles! aaaaargh. and i dont have my other stuff here, so. foiled workout day. unless i squeeze something before my radio show prep at 8pm, or after 10pm (yawn).

however, my arms are aching pleasantly today.

last night i went to the small workout gym in the stata center, and there's an annoying sign-up system for the cardio equipment, with a 30-min max + no consecutive slot signup policy. i managed to do the elliptical for 25 min before the next person poked me and 'reminded me' that he had the machine after me. thanks, i can see the clock CLEARLY on the wall in front, and you are seriously bugging me at 3-minutes-til-the-hour.

[my heartratemonitor was flaking out for a minute or so. as i was warming up it got stuck at 122 for a while until it suddenly kicked in and then jumped to like 137 at once. hopefully this is just a fluke, or a sign of low batteries. i dont want to deal with replacing the thing quite yet...]

i then did some exercises on my arms with dumbbells. bicep, tricep, front-of-bicep (whatever that's called, looks like you're doing the mashed potato in slo-mo), flys (wingspan out), and chest press. also a fav, deadweight pull where you feel it all the way through your body, arms, back, glutes, legs. maybe next time i can try the machines for lat pull-down, leg extensions, and leg press. i followed up with some ab work, though i wish i knew if i was doing it correctly - my neck/upperback gets a tad achy, which i know is not right.

i've decided to invest my new activities (and go shopping!)

1. speedo swimsuit



my current suit (TYR, basic black with blue and white piped edgings) is getting kind of old and saggy with wear. some of the inside material (sandwiched between the outer and inner layers) seems to be disintegrating in patches, leaving various degrees of coverage along my body, especially when wet. this probably isn't good.

so, hence the new suit. i'm convinced the stripes will make me swim faster. ;)

2. bar method body dvd set



shamlessly plugged by dailycandy. i think this is one of the few times i have ever been lured by direct email 'marketing'. scary, huh. however, i think this paired with cardio will be good.

one thing... on the bar method website, it says "Avoid running, however, unless you absolutely can’t live without it. Running strengthens your heart and lungs, but over the long term it beats up your knees, hips, back and face." whaaaaa?

3. new running shoes, new balance 470.

versus

my current pair is the NB 703 model (on the right, except in a much more tasteful grey+skyblue combo), which (i learned from epinions) apparently was discontinued and then reincarnated as the 470 (on the left).

mo' support! mo' footlove!

so with all of this, plus time, plus energy, plus costs to pay for classes, locker rentals, etc. finding time to be fit (if one's everyday schedule is pretty sedentary) is quite a splurge! well, the more i invest, the more i will value the time...

so here's the starting line.



admittedly, i could have shown you some of the less flattering shots taken (say thanks to the 3 to 4 layers of stretch fabrics). i want to burn off that pesky outer layer of subcutaneous fat and also tone up. i know my muscles are strong - my rock-hard calves are notorious 'round these parts! it's just a matter of polishing the roughened bits, so to speak.

i went running around 6pm. the weather was chilly and humid (it began to rain on my way back), and i went down by the river and meandered parallel to the occasional sculler, kayaker, and practicing crew team. i had an inkling that my heartrate was whack, because my HRM posed my lower limit to 134, way lower than it usually does (around 148). i also drank caffeinated beverages (tea, diet pepsi) all day so that might have done it. i was a little achy in the chest (it could have been the three layers of under-bust strappy things), and my legs/ankles were barking from the start. ugh. yesterday (sunday) was my rest day; i did walk a bit, but that was after a yummy meal at zoe's, one mile from my house. zero sum, maybe. :) anyway, tonight i felt like i was running slower than ever (while still keeping in my heartrate zone) and felt like i needed some oil on my joints or something. hmm. tomorrow i will try doing some stuff at the wang fitness center, like an elliptical and weights. just trying to move different parts.

today's route: to the river
3.82 miles
(yep. slow.)

and yes! say hello to my new friend.

heh. east cambridge route.

approximately. i kind of wound around those neighborhood blocks kinda wonky.

i must be jogging around 10-minute miles. how dinky is that? well, hopefully i'll get better as my heart gets healthier. man i love my heartratemonitor.

thanks toshi! that map-pedometer link is awesome. it's a little clunky though does the job, i think.

view yesterday's route through concord/huron area of cambridge

the weather has been nothing short of *glorious*. i know that i should treasure these days, filled with sunshine, mild breezes, and smiling faces, before anguish, heart-stopping humidity, and sweat-filled contempt fill boston with what is traditionally called 'summer'.

therefore, last evening i ran! a bit after six and throughout the hour afterward. it's hard to believe that only a few months ago, nightfall fell around 4:30pm. now you can be out and about til 7:30 and still feel sun on your nose! i love + thrive on the sunshine.

my route was: inman sq, up cambridge st to harvard sq, up garden and then concord st, loop around that posh area there (formaggio kitchen, hi rise bakery, etc), ogle the old-skool homes (is this where julia child lived?), and then return in approximately the same fashion (cutting through the yard and fronting the annenberg-exiting freshmen, ha).

once i find a way to plot out my routes, i'll do that. it'd be good to track them and share them. i happen to love the concord ave route because it's filled with up and downhills. take that, glutes!

i also had a revelation, which might already exist. but i wonder if there are any applications for cellphones that (a) take advantage of any (if any) accelerometer on board, and (b) can be used as a pedometer / activity data log. most people tote along their cellphone - wouldnt it be convenient to have it do some practical health use as well? i think pedos are a good way to get people to just take the extra steps that accumulate over the entire day.

i have superduper energy since i began workingout again... even through it's been a few days, i've definitely felt the difference. i'm not terribly groggy or listless at all... on the contrary, i'm hyper this-and-that, and i actually feel well-rested at night! 'tis good feeling. must continue good feeling.

also, last night, made a kinda-elaborate supper featuring healthy goodies like salmon, oven-roasted potatoes, veggies, the spot of chocolate :) (meal details forthcoming on bliu blog), but try as i might, i couldnt finish my (reasonable) plate of food. astonishing! the girl of bottomless appetite actually feels satiation? it was the weirdest but also liberating feeling. yay! (it might also be the fact that i was running around the kitchen dealing with food preparation left and right. but still. very healthy and natural!)

no obsessive calorie counting. that's *so* 90s.

enjoying life. happy easter + passover!

i went swimming today! i first went to the alumni pool (the older one), and it's in the stata center. there's a pretty nice fitness center there, with machines and weights and stuff, so that's a consideration if i ever want to use the equipment there. however, the pool is superduper tiny! much smaller than i envisioned -- think kid's swimming lessons.

so i went to the zcenter and went into the bohemoth of an athletics facility.

it was great, i was looking forward to it all day.

i did a total of about 40-45 in the pool, somewhere between continuous and near-continuous. i did some freestyle laps, and then alternated with kicking-only butterfly (i secretly call it the 'mermaid' style of swimming), breaststroke, and more freestyle. i still dont like backstroke, and i think the reason why is because my ears get submerged in the water. eww. i'm probably the only person in the world who doesnt like backstroke! after a bit in the 'learning pool' (smaller and warmer), i did 8 laps in the big, sparkling, refreshing pool. it's a good transition; the warm water is definitely easier to acclimate to, but once you're sweating and already in motion, then it's good to move to cooler water.

i checked my pulse after a bout and my rate was 22 x 6 = 132 bpm.

let's see, according to target heart rate, my max heart rate ~ 200. and the fat burning zone is 60%-70%, which translates to 120 - 140 bpm. perfect!

when i run, i'm usually around 160, which would be 80%. which is good cardio. i suppose for the best fat-burning workout, it's being active for moderate intensity for a looong time, rather than higher intensity for a shorter time. so perhaps alternating swimming with running would be a good strategy for now. i also want to do interval training, which is probably easiest at the gym. just bring a jumping rope to the weights area.

i realised that when swimming, it becomes easier to just swim at whatever pace and then keep moving forward, rather than saying 'i will swim 10 laps now' and count down ever so slowly. it's better not to think about it too much, to be too conscious of time.

i was thinking that it might be a fun thing to train for a mini mini mini type of event, like a race or something. i'll read up on triatha newbie to see if there's a mini-triathlon in my near future...

yesterday, i felt fine.

this morning, getting out of bed, SO. SORE. EVERYWHERE. IMAGINABLE.

it's gotten better, but i'm still a little achy.

planning on going swimming this evening. should i check out the alumni pool (old and classique and close) or return to the zcenter (large and deep and x-campus)?

must. find. masseuse.

week 1: the inaugural jog

i've been meaning to go jogging for weeks - nay - months. but now the weather is nothing short of perfect, and i cannot blame the skies for once. i was incredibly proud for jumping out of bed one hour earlier than normal, throwing on my clothes, putting on contacts (egads! remember those?) and walking out the door. i dont use anything fancy, except for a polar heartrate monitor, which keeps me from under- or over-exerting myself. it's a good tool.

i went for a 45 min run with no problem, except for one close call with my left ankle, which has been prone to turning or collapsing during exercise since my sprain in october 2003. i'm proud that i still have my stamina! (i may tell a different story when it comes to kickboxing...)

the link to my workout diary in excel format's over on the sidebar.

i dont own (or believe in) a scale, and i will gauge my progress using tape measurements. it's an imperfect science because i'm not engrossingly painstaking about it, though i will try to keep the location and method of measuring consistent. i will do it from week to week. however, i think it is better than weighing myself because you can have all sorts of fluctuations between water weight, time around your period, lean muscle mass, etc.

where i am now:
i usually fit into a typical size 8, but i'm barely teetering on the edge. i can still wear my size 8 jeans and everything, but they aren't nearly as roomy as they used to be, and i feel quite self-conscious. i wear a medium.

where i would like to be in a month or two with a consistent programme:
to fit into a typical size 8 comfortably; dipping into size 6 with more generous brands (jcrew, banana republic), and size 10 with small-running or european brands. to fit into a generous small or typical medium.

the long-term ideal goal:
to fit into a typical size 6 comfortably; dipping into a size 4 with more generous brands and size 8 with small-running or european brands. to fit into a small or medium.

don't you love the women's sizing system? it's all over the mark!

other random specs:
age: 23
height: 4'11.5", or 5' for all general purposes
activity level: pretty much sitting in front of a computer at lab and at home, though i walk and take public transportation constantly, and take the stairs whenever i can
food: i eat pretty healthily. if there's a nutrition fact, i probably know it front to back. i dont patronise the vending machine (except for the very occasional powerbar when i'm meal-less, and the ubiquitous diet coke), no sweet tooth, no big meat or fat cravings. most of my treats come in the form of very dark and very high-quality chocolate, and i eat cereal and fruit every morning, and try to eat lots of fruit, yogurt, and lean meat. therefore, i think that most of this régimé will focus more on increasing my activity level rather than restricting my diet, for which i believe eating is a healthy thing to enjoy, moderation in all things. i will be conscientious to keep portions reasonable and to stop eating when i've had enough. try as i might, i've been cooking more and bringin leftovers in for lunch, instead of going out to eat. food trucks are so bad news.

so the measurements of week #1 (in inches):

ribcage: 35
bust: untaken
waist: 30.5
hip: 41
neck: 14
left arm circ: 14
left thigh circ: 26

these numbers could be wonky for any reason, including measuring it myself, doing it in the wrong place, or unwisely having a bowl of superdupersalty tamarind soup last night. (i think some of these figures might suggest that i fit a size 10 or 12, which is way too big for me). however, doing these body measurements won't hurt, and hopefully i'll see a trend as time goes on.

short-term goal:
bust:37
waist: 29
hip: 39

these numbers are based on a small array of size-charts from various clothing companies i esteem. below are some that i've culled.

anthropologie

size 8:
bust: 37
natural waist: 29
drop waist: 31
hips: 39

size 10:
bust: 38
natural waist: 30
drop waist: 32
hips: 40

petite 8:
bust 36.5
natural waist 28.5
drop waist 30.5
hips 38.5

petite 10
bust 37.5
natural waist 29.5
drop waist 31.5
hips 39.5

karmaloop

medium (8-10)
bust 35-36.6
waist 27-29
hips 38-39

urban outfitters

7/8
bust 35.5 - 36
waist 27.5 - 28
low waist 29.5 - 30
hips 37.5 - 38

9/10
bust 36.5-37
waist 28.5-29
low waist 30.5-31
hips 38.5-39

bluefly

8 / 38 / 42
bust 35.5
waist 27.5
hip 38

10 / 40 / 44
bust 36.5
waist 28.5
hip 39

no more excuses

the over-arching goal: be more active and have more energy.

i'd like to classify myself as a runner / jogger. i've been running as a primary activity more so than any other sport.

there are a zillion excuses why i lapses on my exercising this past year. here, so i can read it in the future, are the excuses (of varying quality) followed by some rational ways to approach them.

i dont have time

easy. i can get up one hour earlier than normal, and can squeeze in a good run and cooldown in that meantime. it may be hard, but once the clothes and shoes are on, i'm out of the house and into the fresh air.

it's too far to the gym; i'll have to allot a lot of time to get there, go, come back, shower, get to work.

it's not easy as having a gym in the basement, as i had last year. i can alternate running days with 'gym days'. 10 min jog to gym, 30 min workout on the machines / interval training, 10 min job back to home. i can try to squeeze it in an hour.

i dislike showering / changing at the gym locker room.

this is a big one. however, once i get a designated locker, maybe i'll feel like it's easier to stash my showerstuff and shoes and things in there. i do get icky after exercise though. i usually sweat like crazy even after i've showered and cooled down and everything. it's a self-conscious thing.

walking a lot in cambridge, especially to/from the subway stops and also going up and down the stairs at my lab is enough

it's a good start, but i can do way better...

the weather is too cold

well, more like wet, slippery, or snowy. i can hardly keep my own traction on dry asphalt. either get winter running gear, or suck it up and learn to love the gym cardio equipment... or kick-boxing! now that's more like it.

the weather is too hot

get up earlier and beat the rising sun? or suck-it-up and learn to love the gym ad nauseum...

i hate being on a machine in a gym, it's too mechanised feeling.

could you tell? :) should look more into yoga or group aerobic exercise classes...

it's difficult to fit structured group exercise classes in my morphing schedule

just make it a priority.

i get so sweaty; i just want to exercise in an air-conditioned vacuum

let me know if you figure out a way to selectively climate-control. i'm lucky now, because the weather is *perfect* running-weather. come summer... i guess it's not so bad to just SWEAT IT OUT and then take a nice icy shower afterwards.

i have to drag everything to-and-fro if i want to use the gym facilities.

leave stuff at home. leave stuff at lab. leave stuff in the locker. manage.

i'll just eat less

i try my best. but have you seen my appetite? it's bold and takes no prisoners!

next practical steps:

get a new pair of running shoes.
- pending: my bid on ebay (they're the reincarnation of the model shoes i currently have, which are the best fitting shoes)

get a combination lock for the lockers at the gym.
- should pick one up at the nearby hardware store. or the coop.

plan what tomorrow's workout will be. ooh, looking forward!

an ambitious beginning

welcome to the christine machine. just as a disclaimer of sorts, this will mainly serve as my workout diary, a place to jot notes, someplace where i can spew or revisit as see fit. since i have no idea who might actually be interested in the mundane details of my régimé, i'm writing mostly for myself. however, this blog format welcomes any suggestions, support, or feedback if ever there is an occasion for visitors to comment.

to state simply, i am not trying to make any sort of social or political or sexual statement through this. i'm not intentionally trying to push a particular look or lifestyle on anybody, etc. this is just my own project with my own goals. no overt narcissism or shapeism or whatnot to be read into anything. :)

that said, let's get moving.

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