pamela

I did the upper body workout I had planned. I've decided that I need more of a challenge so I'm going to up the weight on each of my exercises by 10 more pounds. I may have to temporarily drop the number of reps but that's ok. This will now mean I'm doing double the weight I started out with... which sounds impressive but it's still not really a lot of weight because I was just really weak before.

No.

I love my body. I love the way my legs and butt are from running especially. Sometimes I wish I was built a bit bigger because I'm teeny tiny, but that's mostly when people hassle me about being "too skinny." I have some minor flaws that I acknowledge, but I'm getting better at accepting them and realize that they really don't matter overall. I'm not trying to change anything about myself physically right now (except improving my V02 max and endurance), I'm just trying to maintain what I have already.

Thanks guys. I really wish I could be out there almost every day but it's just not working out that way and I'm getting better at accepting it. But I'm not giving up, I'm just trying to be patient. Last night I did stretching + abs and I also held a plank for a minute and a half. This morning I'm going to do upper body weights. It's hard to be consistent with things right now with the move coming up so soon.

That's a great time.

Don't forget to eat fruit and veggies, and lots of them!

That's pretty ambitious! Good luck.

I ran 6k tonight. My stupid butt injury is bugging me still, it kicks in at 2k. I am going to make an appointment to see the sports medicine doctor to see if I can at least get it diagnosed so I can figure out if there's anything I can do about it.

I was away all weekend visiting friends, so I have done virtually nothing workout-wise. However I did spend a fair bit of time playing with my friend's son, which gave me an arm workout. He loves being thrown up and down, so I did that until my shoulders were sore. My friend took a picture and I thought my arms looked pretty nice in it. http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/pamelaraiden2.jpg

Welcome to the forum!

Giovanni products did not work for me. I use ABBA products for my hair, Earth Science on my face, JASON body wash, Pacifica perfume, and JASON, Nature's Gate or Tom's toothpaste. I use a few different kinds of vegan make up, and avalon organics hand cream. My favorite lip balm is Crazy Rumors.

I was going to run last night but I didn't feel like it, so I ran this morning. I did 6k. I forgot to start my stopwatch so I have no idea how long I took. I learned some stuff though, including the fact that the weight of an mp3 player will pull down my running skirt! So I had to put in in the pouch on the front of my shirt about 500m into my run. I think I ran at a pretty good pace, I had my music going for the first time in a while and some of the best running songs came on in succession. Now I'm off on a little road trip to my hometown, and no more running until Tuesday!

Congrats on the job Marcina! And, I know it's a bit late, but I just read your starbucks post now and laughed my ass off. Seriously, it was brilliant.

I dragged my butt out of bed super early this morning and ran 6k. We took it pretty slowly, but forgot our stopwatch so I don't know exactly what the pace was. It's a beautiful morning, very nice weather in which to run. My butt (it may actually be my hip, not sure) was mostly ok. I started to feel it a bit at about 2k, but it didn't get to the point of searing pain, it just kept me aware that it felt different than the other side. I plan to run next on Friday evening. Tonight I'm going to do a good stretching session. ETA: I saw a little baby bunny while running! That was the best part.

No XS in the pink? Tashie, does the small fit you? awww, I'd love to see you guys. Tell potter I replied to the message he sent me a few days ago, I just didn't get it until yesterday. How much are the hats/visors?

uh oh, there's a pink one, so I might have to buy it!

Definitely go there (King and I)! It's fantastic. The veg menu is extensive. Strong Hearts in Syracuse is worth the trip too. I love supporting vegan businesses.

I know that. At the time we laughed about how "scandalous" some people might think it was for him to be eating it, though.

Thanks John, I sure hope so!

Tashie- Brendan ate cooked brown rice when he was at my house!!

Thanks guys! Offense, my shirt actually says "Bummer." Not sure if you can see that or not.

My hip has been the bane of my existence for months now. First hip flexors, now butt/hip area. You're right to back off and let it rest. Let us know what your chiro says about it. I'm debating whether to go to the sports medicine dr. or not for my current situation. Also, good assessment on the diet. Make sure you include leafy greens in there too!

I took a few days off because I was traveling, and because of the sore butt issue. I did 6k tonight at an easy pace. I could feel tension and a bit of soreness in my butt, but there was no searing pain at any point like there was the last time I ran. I don't feel anything wrong when I'm NOT running. I'm going to proceed with caution.

I did nothing athletically on the weekend, and this is why. I did, however, sit in a car for nearly 2,000 km. We hit the road just after 9 a.m. on Friday, headed first to Rochester for an overnighter before heading on to Jersey for Vegan Prom. The drive was uneventful, but I was very hungry by the time we reached the first stop on the journey, China Road restaurant in Syracuse NY. We had been there before a couple years ago, so it wasn’t too jarring to see its rundown exterior. http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/Vegan%20Prom/chinaroad2.jpg The food was flavourful, but lacked vegetables for the most part. China Road has a separate vegetarian menu, which is awesome, but the dishes listed under "vegetables" do not necessarily contain vegetables, as we learned. We had szechuan tofu (no vegetables), garlic fried tofu (no vegetables) and vegetarian beef with broccoli (thankfully, lots of broccoli!) http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/Vegan%20Prom/chinaroad1.jpg After that it was on to Natur-Tyme, a natural food store, and the Carousel Centre for some shopping. Before we left town we stopped in at Strong Hearts Café, a new ALL-VEGAN café in Syracuse. I do not have enough good things to say about this place. The owners are vegans and the one I met, Joel, is very cool. They have a really classy space and a menu that includes about 15 different kinds of vegan milkshakes made using Temptation ice cream (which we do not get in Canada). We purchased a vanilla maple oreo milkshake, and two cookies and cream cupcakes (which we never got to eat as we forgot them in our hotel room!! ) Strong Hearts also uses 100% biodegradeable, compostable takeaway containers made from CORN! Some of its menu: http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/Vegan%20Prom/stronghearts.jpg Todd with our milkshake and cupcakes: http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/Vegan%20Prom/stronghearts2-1.jpg Me just outside of the café: http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/Vegan%20Prom/stronghearts1.jpg From there we hit the road to Rochester, where we were going for the sole purpose of eating at The King and I Thai restaurant. We ate there two years ago and have wanted to go back since but couldn’t justify the five hour drive. They have a fantastic veg menu with probably close to 30 options. We met up with someone I know from Vegan Freaks and his lovely newly-vegan girlfriend. We ordered SIX entrees for the four of us because we just couldn’t decide. We ordered panaeng (red) curry, yellow curry, green curry, vegetables in peanut sauce, something called "chu chi" vegetables (sic?) and something called evil jungle curry. All of the dishes had tonnes of vegetables and were all absolutely delicious. We finished everything, except for a small takeaway container worth of food. I easily ate more than anyone else at the table. I don’t know if I should be proud or ashamed. http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/Vegan%20Prom/kingandidish2.jpg http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/Vegan%20Prom/kingandidish.jpg http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/Vegan%20Prom/panaengkingandi.jpg http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/Vegan%20Prom/peanutsauce.jpg http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/Vegan%20Prom/yellowandgreencurry-1.jpg The next morning we picked up a couple people and headed down to Jersey for the prom. On the way there we ate at Taste of Thai Express in Ithaca NY. We wanted to show restraint and order only two dishes for Todd and I to share, but there were so many fantastic options we ended up ordering three and finishing them off. They were vegetables in garlic sauce, pad thai, and spinach in peanut sauce (I forgot to upload the photos). That place gives The King and I a run for its money. The only noteworthy parts of the trip there are when Todd performed some road acrobatics to avoid hitting a groundhog (thankfully, the groundhog was unharmed). The food at the prom was great. The organizers made it all themselves. There was tofu vegetable stir-fry, mac and cheese, baked ziti, salad, chick pea curry, and for dessert cookies and two giant luscious cakes! I ate two whole plates of main course and a big chunk of cake. One of my absolute favorite pics, my friend Nancy (a runner) and I: http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/Vegan%20Prom/pamelanancy.jpg Todd and I: http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/Vegan%20Prom/pamelatoddprom.jpg The prom itself was fun. Since I didn’t get drunk, I got to be a spectator. It was amazing to be around almost all vegans and vegetarians, and not have to give a single thought to if what I was eating had come in contact with animal juices, body parts, or secretions. We stayed over with friends, and were served a lovely breakfast in the morning. We didn’t take pictures on this day because we all looked and felt like ass. In Ithaca we ate at ABC Café. Todd and I shared a vegan burrito that was stuffed with tofu, black beans and home fries and topped with guac and salsa, and a tofu scramble. It was good, but the amount of chicken ovum on the menu was gross, considering it’s a "vegetarian" restaurant. We hit Syracuse next, stopping to do a bit of shoe shopping, and then stopped at Strong Hearts again. We had hoped to get replacement cupcakes, but they didn’t have any, so instead we ate strawberry vanilla cake! We also had two sandwiches, roasted vegetable and chickpea salad on pumpernickel. Both were great. And of course, milkshakes. This time in addition to the kind we had last time, we also ordered a chocolate peanut butter shake. Both were so good I almost cried. With our bellies full, we headed home, arriving at about 10:30 last night.

Yesterday all I did was stretch for half an hour. This morning I went for a run, but it didn't go so well. Even though it was completely fine for a day leading up to my run, my butt started to hurt about 500 metres in. It got progressively worse. I stopped at about 3.5k, walked a while, ran another half km (because I was cold) and then walked the last half km home. It feels absolutely fine now. I'm going away this weekend and won't be running for a few days so hopefully it will sort itself out in that time off.