(Singing Baba at Des Moines Metro Opera, 2006)
To quote one of my favorite roles, Baba the Turk, "I have not run away, dear heart!" (Insert shameless plug: I'll be singing this in June with the Princeton Festival; y'all come!) No, life has just gotten the better of me for the past couple of weeks. First I got sick, then I had my trip to New York (and I did do a great Pilates class there, but that was the only workout I had!), and when I got home, it was production week for Spotlight on Opera, which meant being at the theater every night of the week on top of getting ready for my trip to Boise, ID to sing the Marquise of Berkenfeld in La fille du regiment. This is a brand new role for me and the assignment came rather late, so at some point I had to accept that something was going to have to give , besides real cooking and housework. And that something was working out ... and blogging.
Well, I am finally ensconced in a lovely and comfortable home here in Boise (that's Boy-cee, not Boy-zee, if you want to sound like a native), rehearsals are well underway, and although I am still plenty busy there is a little breathing space.
After two weeks off --- not happy about that at all --- I finally restarted Week Seven of P90X on Tuesday, with the chest-shoulders-triceps workout. It was hard! This particular session involves lots and lots of push-ups, and I couldn't do as many as I was doing two weeks ago. Also, for the first time I am using a resistance band instead of free weights, so that took some adjusting. I ran out of time to do the abs, so I left it for Wednesday, thinking I'd get it in before Plyo.
Well. BIG mistake. Abs and Plyo are, hands down, the two hardest workouts in Po90X, and I ran out of steam about halfway through Plyo. After struggling with my pride for a few minutes, I decided not to be a hero (risking injury, which I can ill afford) and gave up. Boy, did that sting! I am more sore and tired today than I have been in the past several weeks, so I am debating whether to try to finish the Plyo workout later in the day. The plan right now is to move on to Back-Biceps-Abs for my morning session, and if there's some gumption left after the afternoon rehearsal, finish out that Plyo.
Soreness and weariness aside, it feels great to be back to working out. I miss it when I don't do it, and this is how I know it's become an important part of my life. Here in Idaho, there are supposed to be some great hiking/running trails. I haven't had a chance to check them out yet but I have high hopes for the weekend, which we mostly have off due to Easter.
Strangely, I haven't worried too much about food over the past several weeks. Oh, I've tried to behave, I've been conscious of what I was putting in my mouth, and I've tempered the indulgences -- but I have not made a food plan or gotten on the scale. And I don't think I've gained, or at least not much. Honestly, there just hasn't been time to think about it, and on some level, I have been curious to find out how I would do, releasing a little bit of the control and trusting myself a little more. The answer is: far from perfect, but for a little while, just fine. More carbs and sweets than I should have had, but I have always been able to reign myself in and no longer have the feeling that I might fall off the cliff at any time.
Now, I do think that if I were to continue like this, there would be gradual, incremental slips until I'd find myself back among the bad habits. But I'm not going to let that happen. Here, on the road, I am eating very simply because it is what is convenient. I'm staying as a guest in someone's home, and not doing any cooking more complicated than heating stuff up in the microwave. So that means a lot of salads, frozen veggies with soy patties crumbled on top, beans, hummus, raw carrot sticks, and the like. Every couple of days I have a more substantial restaurant meal. So far, it works fine.
And I found the self-serve yogurt place. Now there, I have to be careful. ;) In fact, if there's to be yogurt in my future today or tomorrow, it's time to go work out. I'm back!
Yay! You're back. Good work on not letting the craziness of your recent life take you over the edge! I've had a downfall with Easter dinner and candy, so I need to eat extra lightly this week.
Posted by: Sara | April 25, 2011 at 08:23 AM