Heat Blisters

It was so nice to be back in Sycamore this weekend. Nels and I have been away from his apartment out there for 3 weeks, we were in his hometown, then my parents the following weekend, and then I was out in Florida. We love the Sycamore area and want to live out there eventually.

Spent a lot of the weekend catching up with friends and going out. We had Thai food with our friends Sean & Burcu Friday night then went to Stanley's for some beers. I stuck to MGD 64 and just had a few of those. Then on Saturday, we met up with Robin and Mike in Long Grove for the Chocolate Fest. It was fun, but for a chocolate fest I expected a lot more chocolate creations than I actually saw. One place was selling waffle sticks dipped in chocolate and they were sooooooo good:



My boss, who is big on working out and eating right, said that if you don't eat something for 2 weeks, you'll stop craving it or at the very least it will not be as appetizing anymore. I'm starting to think she's right. Nels and I are all about breakfast skillets at our favorite breakfast place in Sycamore, Eggsclusive. We go every Saturday morning. Well, we've been deprived for the last 3 weeks and of course went this past weekend. While it was still delicious, I didn't feel too great after. The hash browns made me feel really bloated, and I could feel the sodium in my system. I've never been a big salt person, but have noticed lately that I'm a lot more sensitive to salty stuff. It makes me feel thirsty the entire day. I think we need to start making our own breakfasts at home from now on. I also gave in to 1 McDonald's cheeseburger this weekend, which I haven't had in a month, and that was no longer appetizing either. Yes, we definitely pigged out this weekend.

I had a great workout tonight at the gym. I did a weight lifting circuit, 2 sets of the following:
Low row, 60 lbs, 12 reps
Pulldown, 55 lbs, 12 reps
Chest pull, 25 lbs, 12 reps upper, 12 lower
Step up, 30 lbs, 15 reps per leg
Shoulder raises, 5 lbs dumbbells, 15 each of side and front raises
Side crunches, 10 lbs, 20 reps each side
Repeat

Then with my cardio, I could really see an improvement in my endurance. I did 30 minutes on the Stair Master starting at level 8 and then set at level 10 for 20 minutes of the 30. I've mostly been starting at 6 and then holding at 8, so this is definitely an improvement. Then I ran a 10 minute mile at 6.0, which is also an improvement because usually I'll start my runs at 5.7 and slowly build up to 6.

What was not so great, however, was what I discovered on my arms and legs after I got off the treadmill - do you see the little bubbles?



I called my cousin, who is a nurse, and picture texted her this and asked her what the heck was going on. She said they're likely heat blisters. For some reason, they've been happening to me when I work out since I got back from Florida. I don't know if it has something to do with my tan peeling a bit or what. It happened last week on my chest too, which is now peeling. I felt like I was pretty hydrated, I went through a bottle and a half of water for my 45 minute work out. It's so damn hot and muggy at my gym though, maybe I am getting overheated.

I've lost about 10 pounds now this year. I want to get back to my driver's license weight, which is 133 and I'm at 138.5. I definitely feel like I have way more muscle than ever before, and better definition. It feels great to be getting in better shape. Earlier this week I was looking through photos and can definitely see that my working out is paying off. Last summer, I tried to save some money by freezing my gym membership for 3 months with the intention of running outside. I ended up not doing as much running as I thought I would, and so gained a few pounds from a decrease in exercise and no more weight training. Here's a picture from last summer and then one taken this weekend, and you can definitely see a difference:


2009:


2010:


I'm so excited for this summer : ) I found a super cute swimsuit at Target today and was thrilled that I tried on quite a few that I liked.

I also e-mailed my mom's friend this weekend who did her first triathlon last summer, it's the same one I'll be doing in August. She sent me back a ton of information that I have to sort through. It's time to set up a training plan soon, so I'll blog about that in a few days. Sooooooooo nervous!

That's all for now folks!