My calf muscles are still wicked sore from November Project on Wednesday.
It’s funny to watch me walk around.
I’m getting a little concerned that the leg pain won’t go away before my two 5Ks this weekend.
At least the first race of the two – Color Me Rad – isn’t timed & is geared more towards beginners so walking is OK. I’m sure I’ll have fun, even if I have to walk instead of run the race,
I’m hoping I’ll be able to run on Sunday though for the AIDS 5K.
Post work out photo – I’m in the back right with my pink hood up
Some of you may remember that I started 2014 with November Project, climbing the Harvard Stadium stairs.
Well, now that my work events season is over, I asked my boss if I could adjust my schedule to be able to attend November Project on Wednesdays. I’m so glad I asked and my boss agreed.
I excitedly told 2 of my friends who are November Project regulars that I’d see them on the stairs on the 28th.
When I woke up this morning, I just laughed at the weather. It looked very gloomy – rain & 50 degrees. I wanted to stay in bed, but I figured I hadn’t changed around my work schedule only to flake in a little rain. After all, a November Project verbal (commitment to be at a workout) is a serious thing!
Boy, did my body feel that it’s been nearly 6 months since the last time I climbed the Harvard Stadium stairs. My legs are feeling a bit like jelly right now and my abs are on fire. But I’m proud! I got through 11 sections of stairs.
One of the best things about November Project is the way members look out for each other. Every time I felt like I should quit, my face must have shown it, because I’d hear “You can do this!” or “You’ve got this!” shouted at me in a positive way by someone wearing November Project gear.
I didn’t end up seeing either of the friends I told I’d be there – but that was OK – since the rest of the group was still looking out for me.
I’m looking forward to going back to climb stairs with November Project Boston next Wednesday.
The Boston Parks Free Summer Fitness Schedule
My friend Jess L. sent me the awesome link above to free fitness classes that will be offered in Boston this summer.
Check it out and see if you can work a class into your schedule!
I’m going to try the Monday night Zumba classes & would love company if you want to join me.
I’m back to being a little frustrated Weight Watchers wise, with a small gain this week. (0.8 pounds)
I’m hoping that a return to regularly scheduling fitness in my life again will point me to weight loss again.
That begins with November Project Boston on the Harvard Stadium stairs at 6:30 AM on Wednesday morning.
Then I have two 5K runs this weekend – Color Me Rad on Saturday & AIDS 5K Boston on Sunday.
I’m fundraising for the AIDS 5K Boston, so if you’re interested in donating, my fundraising page is http://action.aac.org/goto/DanielleKempe
On Wednesday night, I went to a BollyX fitness (dance) class with 2 friends.
I had a wonderful time and I earned 6 Weight Watchers activity points for the day.
I love BollyX classes because they’re a great, fun, workout – even if like me you don’t get every dance move right.
I definitely needed a return to fitness classes. I haven’t been able to fit them in during the last few weeks with my crazy work schedule but I was so glad I worked it in last night.
I’m still grieving over the death of my Weight Watchers leader, Karen. I think Karen would find my going to a fitness class to work through grief instead of eating my feelings a fine tribute to her teaching at Weight Watchers. I’d like to think she was watching me and smiling. (I talked about BollyX and other fun ways I got activity in at Weight Watchers meetings, and Karen was usually amused.)
My Cystic Fibrosis Foundation walk season is over. I manage 6 walk sites for CFF – and 4 of the 6 walks occurred this weekend.
One thing that happens when you work for a nonprofit with a small staff is you do a lot of moving of walk day supplies. I earned 31 Weight Watchers activity points last week – without any time at a gym or fitness class. A lot of that was from lugging cases of water from our storage space to walk sites before the walks & at the walks there was a lot of set up with moving tables, pop up tents, heavy boxes full of tee shirts, etc.
Now, I’ve started to notice that if I get in a crazy for me level of activity during the week, when I weigh in at WW, I’ll have a gain. That’s what happened this week. Up 1.2 pounds.
I’m hopeful that I’ll have a loss in weight when I weigh in on Tuesday of this week. My activity level and eating pattern will be back to my “normal” levels.
I went to my Weight Watchers meeting in Framingham, MA this afternoon, only to find out that the leader – Karen S. – died over the weekend from a stroke.
Myself and the other members were shocked to say the least. We’ve already missed the wake & funeral.
Karen was a wonderful, caring person. I may not have always agreed with the ways she lead the meetings, but I never doubted for a second that she cared about each and every one of us.
We’re devastated that she’s gone.
Here’s a link to the review I wrote on Yelp.com about Karen’s meetings: http://www.yelp.com/biz/weight-watchers-center-framingham?hrid=gbEJIUdfBXVqVhdtEghuFQ
About 3 weeks ago, the meeting topic for Weight Watchers was about plateaus.
I got some great advice that I tried to bust out of my annoying months long plateau. I eat a lot of the same foods every week, so I tried changing that up a little, on the theory that my body had gotten used to what I eat.
Last week, I lost 3 pounds. This week, I lost 1.6 pounds. This brings me to 27.8 pounds lost total since following the Weight Watchers Points Plus plan. (Woo-hoo!)
I’m hopeful that I can keep this pattern going and get to my overall weight loss goal.
I’ve been crazy stressed from work this week so if I can be on track now and take care of myself health wise, I can definitely keep it up for calmer periods of my life.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Great Strides walk in Wakefield that I managed on Saturday went well.
It rained during set up, but by the start of the walk it had stopped.
Fundraising wise, we’re tracking to reach the goal of $60,000. Hopefully donations keep coming in. Every bit helps fight CF (and I want to make the fundraising goal for the site)!
I earned 5 Weight Watchers activity points that day from set up and break down of the walk.
This upcoming weekend is my craziest for work – with 4 different walk sites that I manage taking place.
I’m trying to remember to take care of myself by eating nutritiously and getting in some movement in my days – to make long work hours more bearable. Today I was in the office from 8:30 AM – 7:30 PM.
At least the end of the crazy work hours is in site.
My full time job entails managing 6 walk sites for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
May is both my events season and Cystic Fibrosis awareness month.
Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a life-threatening genetic disease that primarily affects the lungs and digestive system. An estimated 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide) have CF.
In people with CF, a defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that:
- Clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections.
- Obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down food and absorb vital nutrients.
In the 1950s, few children with CF lived to attend elementary school. Since then, tremendous progress in understanding and treating CF has led to dramatic improvements in the length and quality of life for those with CF. Many people with the disease can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond.
Last Sunday, I managed a walk site in Mendon that had around 1,000 walkers & volunteers. This Saturday, I’m managing a site in Wakefield that should have about 200 walkers. Hope for good weather for me! (I’m missing seeing my sister-in-law graduating from college – Emmanuel – the same college I attended – because it’s the same day and time of this walk site. I’d love to have break down post walk go very smoothly so I can head to the south shore to her post graduation party. Also, my husband will be at the graduation so that means he won’t be volunteering at the walk, which was needed last year. I’m very lucky he’s such a huge help to me during my walk season!)
Next weekend, May 17th & 18th, is just crazy. I have 4 different walk sites that I manage that weekend. Since I can’t clone myself, I’ll be overseeing the Worcester & Dedham walks, while co-workers oversee Walpole & Lynnfield.
Once walk season is over, I’m looking forward to getting some sleep again. (I’ve got a stomach bug I’ve been fighting since Monday – which I think is partially due to sleep deprivation from working crazy hours catching up to me and weakening my immune system.) No rest in site till after May 20th.
So, I’m totally not ignoring anyone.
I don’t mention my job much in the blog because it isn’t too relevant to fitness – but event days do make me rack up very high Weight Watchers activity point numbers. (My job is not just working with walkers to help them fundraise – though that’s my favorite part of the job. I also have to recruit volunteers & handle all walk day logistics, including packing up all the walk day supplies and food and driving them over to the site.) I miss being able to have time to get in fitness activities, since that’s a major way I relieve stress.
Getting Fit in Massachusetts 