The great balancing act

So it's been about a week since I wrote last. Followed my schedule for last week pretty well, up until Thursday, when the craziness began. I took on another dog-sitting job (it's totally becoming a side job!) for my friend Colleen's boyfriend, Trevor. He lives in Alameda. Alameda is a nice place. Charming, quaint, pretty beach. But I'll be DAMNED if it isn't in one of the most pain-in-your-ass places to try and get to. You see, Alameda is an island, and there are only a few ways into and out of Alameda. Once you're in one of the tubes or bridges that takes you under or over water, respectively, you're fine. But all of these tubes or bridges lie *just* beyond the MacArthur maze off of I-880. So for me, it's simply a matter of picking my poison. Drive all the way across down and deal with Berkeley drivers and all of their insanity and hop onto CA-24 then 980, then exit into downtown Oakland and hook up with the Webster tube, OR brave I-80 Westbound through Berkeley and deal with the hell of the MacArthur maze (it is hell most hours of the day).

Anyway. I dog-sat Bailey, who is a great dog and we got along quite well. Still, with all of my traverses and then having a swim team meeting on Sat morning, followed by a staff retreat in SF from noon-3 p.m., and working at Monticello Vineyards on Sunday - working out took a back burner. I did get a lot of walking in, though.

What I noticed about working out last week was that I got an A for effort and an F for working out at an intensity that would be 'repeatable.' I was so dead anyway by Thursday. This could be combined with the fact that I had a board meeting on Monday evening, ended up going out to a wine tasting on Tuesday evening, and went out for a drink with one of my evening volunteers on Wednesday. I will say, however, that upon reflection, I actually did a nice job with discipline. Kept the drinking to a minimum AND was still in bed by 10 p.m. Go me!!

Getting back on the circuit after Sunday evening, I intended to swim Monday morning but it just didn't happen. These days, it is SO cold in the a.m. and my flannel sheets have this amazing ability to hold me hostage in their warmth and fuzziness. So, I swam about 3000 yards yesterday evening, stayed in the back of the lane and just tried to make the intervals without letting my heart rate get too high. Same thing for spinning this morning - never let my heart rate get above 180 and averaged 164, which is still too high but practically unavoidable in a class like that. I am sore from all the standing up we did, because I really try to isolate my legs when we do that. Lifted weights with Christine, and we focused on abs and chest. It was good. Made it to work on time.

So how do I feel? My shoulders are sore. My legs are sore. My back is slightly sore. Mostly from the swimming, I'm sure. I was good about making sure I had Accelerade throughout the workout and had a bite of something to eat (Clif makes Z Bars, which sell for $0.39 at TJ's - they're a great combo of carbs and protein and only 130 calories); had another bite of Z Bar after lifting, and ate the rest once I got to my car to drive to the carpool. So, we'll see how it all works.

I titled this "The great balancing act" because it truly is that. So difficult to get everything in sync and make sure you're resting enough, eating right, exercising right, etc. Great challenge, though.

One last note:
I put some new links up of some websites I occasionally visit. I subscribe to Active's newsletters and find them to be very helpful and resourceful, especially if you don't have time to read a ton of books on the subject. The final link is non-related but very worth checking out. We just got the book titled Mom's Cancer by Brian Fies here in the office. It began as a comic blog online as a way for him to cope with everything his mother was going through (lung cancer with brain metastasis), and simply through word-of-mouth, it became INCREDIBLY popular. I read the book yesterday and am so impressed by his representation of everything. It is a must-read, even for people who haven't been personally affected by cancer, because I think it so accurately depicts how cancer affects not just the patient, but the whole family itself. He's doing a book signing on Sat, March 25 at Cody's on 4th in Berkeley. I plan to be there!