I never intended to be paleo in Europe, and I wasn't. Why would I? So here are my eating and exercising highlights of Europe.
Our first few days were spent in Paris. It really was a whirlwind three days. I had never been, so I wanted to see as much as possible. I made a list and checked off nearly everything. Josh and I had signed on for the burpee challenge and managed to keep up, as
evidenced in this picture:
Yep. We're hardcore. We would have been even more hardcore if we would have walked up the Eiffel Tower, but we got in the wrong line and honestly, we had gotten 2 hours of sleep in the last 30 hours. We were exhausted. But we did make it to the top!
The best food I ate in Paris was a Creme Brulee. The best site I saw that I didn't take a picture of was a pug sitting at a bar. I did walk up the stairs at Sacre Cour. I did exercise. On to Italy!
So my workout of the day for August 22 was wandering around the maze of streets in Verona with my luggage in 90 degree heat looking for my hotel. My mom was already there, Josh was heading up to Rovereto for his conference, I was wandering. It would have been helpful if the streets had signs. Eventually I found it and managed to entertain my mom and her friend every day by doing burpees in our tiny hotel room.
I ate gelato every day I was in Italy.
I could call Venice a workout since it was so hot, but it was awfully lovely and I could spend so much time there. The only way you can get around there is by walking or by boat (not even any bikes). Ah Venice, I'll see you again.
After Italy, we went to Belgium, where we drank a lot of beer and ate a lot of non-paleo food. I hardly remember Amsterdam because it was our last day and we only had one day there. I did go to the Anne Frank house and we spent plenty of time wandering around the red light district. Again, walking was my workout.
The only day I didn't do my burpees was the day we flew home. We had a 10 hour flight straight from Amsterdam to Portland. We were so disoriented by the time we got to Eugene, I think I went to bed at 7pm. I enjoyed my time in Europe, and feel very fortunate that I was able to go. Towards the end, I kept thinking about September and how it was going to be a difficult month, not only at work but in my personal life. I would start teaching again at LBCC at the end of September, so I would have to get my life organized. I knew it would be little more than work and crossfit for a while. Au revoir!
One more week until European Vacation. Have to make this week count.
Doctor's appointment Monday am. Weight - 146. Lost 7 pounds. Woo-hoo!
Cindy was a major hurdle this week. 20 minutes of AMRAP 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 squats. I made it 15 minutes, then stopped. When I got home, I was mad at myself because I felt like I should have gone for it. I could have gotten another set or two out of it. But I didn't. Must push myself harder.
So Wednesday night, I see that the workout for Thursday is the 5K. This will give me something to think about all day.
When I moved to Eugene two years ago, I needed something to do (since I couldn't find work) and I decided that I would be a runner. I did the couch to 5K program and was actually impressed with my progress. Josh and I decided that we would do the Turkey Stuffer 5K on Thanksgiving morning. A couple weeks into November, I must have pulled a muscle or something, because my leg did not feel right. I still went ahead and did the 5K, but ended up walking most of it because of my leg. I was disappointed in myself, but i still had a goal.
The following year, I tried again. I didn't train as much as I should have, but I ended up running it in 36 minutes, which made me happy. Then I didn't run after that (I had totally convinced myself that my body wasn't made for running).
So here we are in August 2009, with a 5K as a workout. I think about it all day. I get my ipod and start the run. Tommy and I are close the whole race. I ran the first mile and a half straight. I walk a bit after that, then run/walk the rest of the way. I finish in 33:38. I was so happy. I hadn't run in so long and I could still beat my score. I know 33:38 doesn't seem like much to a lot of people, but it was a personal victory for me. My next goal is to definitely run one in under 30 minutes.
The next day, Friday afternoon, I received a call from my doctor. The blood tests I had taken earlier in the week came in, and the results were off. My platelets were low. This is why I was bruising easily and my cuts weren't healing very fast. I really wasn't sure what it all meant so I called my mom, who is a nurse. She wasn't really sure either. She called me the next day and told me to be careful and to not put myself in any danger. This wasn't a good call to get a few days before leaving for Europe. So we scheduled a follow-up blood test right when I got back. Not knowing what was going on was really scary. I changed a lot at once in July - diet, exercise, medications. Who knows? I skipped my Friday afternoon workout because I was worried, and made it to my Saturday morning workout. This was it for a while. Onto Europe, the land of wine and gelato!
I had a lot working in my favor at the conference - well, one major thing. The lunch buffet had full salad options. There was a lot of meat and a lot of veggies at the table. So for the most part, I could be paleo. I was as good as I've ever been for snack time - there was a little snack station set up for us in the courtyard. Instead of going for the free Ben & Jerry's that was in the freezer (in the 110 degree heat), I found apples and hard-boiled eggs. So during the day, I was good.
The evening was a different story. The first evening, we had an event in a pizza place. I didn't have much, but I did have a little. BUT, I also had a drink (or two). This will be my downfall. On the second night, the event was in a Mexican place. But even before that, I went down to the hotel bar and had what was supposed to be one drink, but this guy who has a lot of money that he gives to us sat down next to me and we started talking sports, and I had another drink, which he ended up buying. So then we finally went to the Mexican place (and yes, we will get some money out of him). I didn't have that much, but I did have a drink, and if I had stopped at one then I would have been fine with the karaoke. I sang 'Copacabana' and had the whole room dancing. Then I totally took it too far and thought I was awesome and tried to sing 'Don't Stop Believin'.' What a terrible idea. Don't drink and sing, kids, especially to Journey.
I also tried to exercise when I was there, but it was still 90 degrees at 6am. How do people live here?
When I came back to crossfit, we had a fundamentals class where the workout was pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups. I managed to get through it ok. I don't know if I'm getting better yet. But I make it to class and I do the work. I make it three days in a row. I keep going.
I also miss crossfit while I'm gone. I think about it a lot. I check the website. It's becoming part of me.
The hardest workout this week for me was Elizabeth. I wanted to do well because it's my middle name (stupid reason). I just could not get those dips. They were totally slowing me down.
My friend Sara's birthday was Thursday, and she invited all of her friends to Adam's Sustainable Table. I did not drink and I did not eat anything I wasn't supposed to. It wasn't easy. Adam's is great about their food, but it seemed like most of the dishes had something I couldn't eat. I think I ended up with the halibut and veggies, which was good, but I know some people ordered some really great food. Next time. Right now, I'm on a mission.
This week was fairly eventful. It was stressful at work because of a big meeting on Friday (which ended up working out). Josh's dad was visiting. It was the hottest week ever. Josh's birthday was Saturday. And I had to fly out on Sunday for a conference in Phoenix. And my boss told me that she was leaving. It was all a bit much, especially since my flight from Eugene was delayed and I missed my connection in SF and didn't make it to Phoenix until Monday morning. Gah! Stress is fine. Stress is OK. Stress happens.
Yep. We're hardcore. We would have been even more hardcore if we would have walked up the Eiffel Tower, but we got in the wrong line and honestly, we had gotten 2 hours of sleep in the last 30 hours. We were exhausted. But we did make it to the top!
The best food I ate in Paris was a Creme Brulee. The best site I saw that I didn't take a picture of was a pug sitting at a bar. I did walk up the stairs at Sacre Cour. I did exercise. On to Italy!
So my workout of the day for August 22 was wandering around the maze of streets in Verona with my luggage in 90 degree heat looking for my hotel. My mom was already there, Josh was heading up to Rovereto for his conference, I was wandering. It would have been helpful if the streets had signs. Eventually I found it and managed to entertain my mom and her friend every day by doing burpees in our tiny hotel room.
I ate gelato every day I was in Italy.
I could call Venice a workout since it was so hot, but it was awfully lovely and I could spend so much time there. The only way you can get around there is by walking or by boat (not even any bikes). Ah Venice, I'll see you again.
After Italy, we went to Belgium, where we drank a lot of beer and ate a lot of non-paleo food. I hardly remember Amsterdam because it was our last day and we only had one day there. I did go to the Anne Frank house and we spent plenty of time wandering around the red light district. Again, walking was my workout.
The only day I didn't do my burpees was the day we flew home. We had a 10 hour flight straight from Amsterdam to Portland. We were so disoriented by the time we got to Eugene, I think I went to bed at 7pm. I enjoyed my time in Europe, and feel very fortunate that I was able to go. Towards the end, I kept thinking about September and how it was going to be a difficult month, not only at work but in my personal life. I would start teaching again at LBCC at the end of September, so I would have to get my life organized. I knew it would be little more than work and crossfit for a while. Au revoir!
