Too Much On My Plate

Unfortunately, I’m not referring to my dinner plate…

I’m so swamped with various commitments right now – full-time job, part-time tutoring job, freelance writing assignments and I’m in the process of planning my sister’s baby shower and my mom’s 60th birthday party (both in October). People keep asking me how I have the energy to work out on top of all of that but, honestly, working out is what gives me the energy to keep up with everything.

For that reason, I was considering signing up for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half-Marathon in mid-October but it’s now sold out. I was a little bummed out at first but I have to admit, when I woke up this morning to a chilly and extremely windy fall morning, I was relieved that I didn’t have to go for a long run. Instead, I went to a delightfully warm Body Pump class.

On that note, I’d like to get back to lifting 3 times a week. I was seeing great results when I was lifting more frequently and while my legs have become more muscular since I started training for the half, my midsection is looking a little soft these days and my clothes feel just a tad tighter.

And I’m okay with that. I knew when I started training for the half marathon that switching from a mostly weights and interval based routine to one based on long bouts of steady-state cardio would not necessarily have a desirable effect on my body. In fact, weight gain was one of the reasons I was reluctant to sign up for a half marathon in the first place. But in the end, I’m so glad I did it. This was the first fitness pursuit I embarked on solely for the physical challenge and not for vanity-related reasons. I feel like I made significant progress as a runner this summer and I’m proud of myself for that.

But now that it’s over with, I’m looking forward to shaking up my routine and tightening up a little. Here is what this week looked like in fitness:

Next week, I’d like to do a couple of extra Les Mills classes (RPM and Body Attack) and add more variety to my lifting routine. I’d also like to continue running a few times a week and to keep me motivated I’ve decided it’s time to get an iPod Nano to replace this piece of shit I’ve been running with for the past year and a half:

I hate this thing — it’s supposed to hang around your neck but it flops around when you move so you end up having to hold it the whole time. I almost impulse purchased the new Nano last night but decided to sleep on it and if I still really, really wanted it in the morning, I’d buy one. Well, I still really, really want it and think I will pick one up either today or tomorrow.

In other news, I watched the movie 50/50 last night and highly recommend it.

Let me tell you, I never cry during movies. Ever. I get choked up occasionally but never has a movie made me actually straight-up cry – until this one. I really tried to hold it in (I take after the British side of the family and it’s just not cool to lose your shit in public) but there was a point where there were actual tears coming down my face. It was super embarrassing. 

But anyway, this was a really, really good movie and while there are definitely some heart wrenching parts, there’s also a lot of humour to balance it out. Plus, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is amazing in this role. Go see this movie!

That’s all from me — time to get writing/party planning. I promise I will try not to go another week (!) without posting… :S

Do you work out to look good or to challenge yourself physically?

Do you cry in movies or are you a robot like me?