plus size runner

atthequillsmercy

Workout Dump: Welcome Back!

I am so happy to see Zombies Run back to how it used to be. I swear, I can hear it in the voice acting; the joy at getting back to what made the app awesome in the first place. It is a happy accident that things are more routine after my son’s surgery, and I can start running again. It feels great to be moving, even if I’m sore.

The medical bills and rising cost of… Everything has me getting more creative with my meals. I try to have more fruit, get jarred sauce on sale while I wait for my plants to grow, and use cheaper vegetables when I don’t buy the frozen ones. I make sure to take stock of what’s in my home and make do with what I have before I spend any more money on groceries than I absolutely have to. I think it’s going okay so far, but I am so stoked to see what my little indoor garden will give me in a few weeks. It’s going to be a very stressful summer, but I’ll deal with things as they come.

atthequillsmercy

Workout Dump: Busy, busy!!

This isn’t all my workouts since I’m in the process of getting things ready for my son’s surgery. It was very sudden; someone apparently cancelled, and they offered him the spot! I am very nervous and excited for him. I know he’s been waiting for this for years, and it means a lot of preparation for the post-surgery recovery and running around to pre-surgery appointments. I’m still doing the desk peddler whenever I can, and I’m counting moving furniture as a workout.

Those pickled red onions are still a fun addition, but now, they’re joined by some garlic scape chimichuri. I had some pork chops to throw in the air fryer, which was a great dinner. I usually end up with a dry, inedible mess when I try to make pork chops. I dunno how my Gramma did it… Either way, it was a success. I didn’t want to use heavy sauce and didn’t want to waste garlic scapes, that’s where the chimichuri came in. It has a kick to it (it’s garlic scapes, yellow onion, and garlic in olive oil and red wine vinegar). Whatever I’m doing is working because I am down to 206! I honestly don’t think it’s the food. I think it’s getting back into being active.

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Workout Roundup: It’s good to be back (mostly)

As I’m easing back into things, I did push myself a bit and ran at a really easy pace when I hit the treadmill. I’m pairing that with the desk peddler. I do just enough to get my heart rate up, and by the end of it, I can tell it’s working because I am so sore. It’s gonna be a while before this is easy again.

When I say I wanted more veggies, I mean I was desperate for them. I’m back to eating solid foods. I still have to be careful and only chew on one side of my mouth. I’m also watching my portions because I lost weight when I couldn’t eat anything more solid than mashed potatoes and oatmeal and I don’t want to gain it back. And as you can see, I’m big into those pickled res onions now. I make them really fast in the fridge and even put them on sandwiches (pics at another time). I feel so much better getting back to a normal routine. 

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atthequillsmercy

Workout Dump: Season One Complete!

Now, you may be saying: “Lenni, you already finished season 1 years ago!” And you are correct! These workouts were finishing all the season one Radio Abel clips. With some 5k trainer thrown in there. After NYCC, I kept up with some very easy walking workouts and I think it actually helped me recover faster! Moving more in general is good and the scale is inching in the right direction again. I’m also doing my crunches and upped the number of wall pushups. Kinda like my writing, bit by bit progress is being made.

I got some boneless chicken thighs on sale and made a whole batch of buttermilk fried chicken for me and my kid to eat during the week. For the first time, I had it over a bed of Napa cabbage and onion with lemon juice, olive oil, and lemon pepper on it. It was actually quite refreshing! I scored more of that amazing focaccia bread from the farmer’s market for sandwiches (yes, that is a book bento box), and I’m eating more types of vegetables. Sometimes, I have the energy to stand there and chop peppers, sometimes it’s lightly sauced steamed in the microwave vegetables. Lately, my calories have been over 1000 a day but I am totally ok with that if I’m active and it’s not junk food. I’m back on the Saxenda on a low dose. I don’t feel overfull and I think my nails are growing back attached. I’m super excited about that.

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atthequillsmercy

Workout Dump: World Traveler and A Break

It’s been a hot minute since I posted about workouts, so here’s a snippet of what I’ve been doing. I finished all the Nellie Bly missions and started the pirate one. The step counter is working better, but it’s not exact. I rely on my watch or my ring to actually get my pace. These pics are pretty close, though. I’ll take it. I’ve been fairly active outside of this, too. Daily crunches and squats, and trying to remember doing some wall pushups. I’m still stuck around 209, but I NEED to give the Saxenda a break. I’m not a medical professional, but since the Saxenda fucks with my depression SO badly at times, I need to be off it for a while. I shouldn’t be waking up in the morning and immediately thinking, “I want to die.” My writing is suffering because aside from that thought, my brain is muffled and useless. Writing is the only way I’ve been able to make any money on the side, and I can’t have this medication making me creatively dead. I may gain some weight back, but I’m fine with that. I can restart it when I feel better. It’s not worth being skinny (which isn’t my goal anyway) if I can’t function! Even after less than a week off it, I already feel more balanced. I have noticed I’m hungrier, but even if I hit 1,000 calories a day, I feel overfull. I’ll keep checking in and talk to my doctors about this.

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atthequillsmercy

“Today’s” Workout: There’s clearly a problem

I honestly couldn’t tell you what the hell is going on with my Zombies Run app but I have made so many stride length adjustments since the last couple updates to the app and it just will not count my steps unless I’m shaking the phone like a damn maracca. I have my watch as a backup which shows the real step count, pace, and distance but the stats in ZR used to matter to me in terms of seeing my improvements or lack thereof. Now it’s all gone to shit. The 5k trainer within the app is great. I find it really encouraging. The intervals are different from Just Run which gives me some variety to make sure my body doesn’t get used to things and has a challenge. Every other app is tracking my steps just fine but I don’t know what is up with Zombies Run and my lazy googling hasn’t uncovered any other people having this issue. I’m trying for a 90 day workout challenge to try and burn off these last few pounds before NYCC and while this isn’t helping, it’s not hindering me either. I’m moving and that’s what counts. Any other day I’m not running, I’m on the desk bike or desk peddler.

My food has been interesting since I’ve been having my fingernails detach again. I’m doubling up on my multivitamins and switching some other things up. That salad is basically what I had in that croissant sandwich but in a salad without the bread. Those wasabi almonds are fantastic while I’m feeling peckish and I’ve been making progress on cleaning out the deep freezer/fridge by making things like that huge ass lamb leg. I baked it with potatoes and vegetables, then portioned it out for the week. I hate having to use the oven in the summer but, this stuff needs to be cooked and eaten. It’s all part of the big clean-out I’m doing of the whole house. If I can’t eat it, wear it, use it, or sell it, it’s going in the trash. Hopefully, I’ll sell enough stuff that I can give the sanitation workers a HUGE tip this year. They fucking deserve it considering what I’ve put them through.

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atthequillsmercy

Today’s Workout: An attempt was made

I’m so frustrated with how slow things are going that I decided to hop on the C210K trainer and the first workout was 53 minutes. I hadda stop at the third interval. I just couldn’t do it. I walked the rest. All of these workouts are too long for a weekday, so weekend warrior it is. I can either walk or bike during the week. Also, the stride length got reset with the Zombies Run app updated. I am so glad my watch keeps track of things as well. My in-app stats will be off but I’ll just have to live with that.

The farmer’s market by my job is back in business and I had to grab some of the delicious broccoli rabe ravioli and marinara sauce. I love farmer’s market season. They have amazing stuff. Dinner was healthy despite me wanting a burger. Probably craving protein after that long workout but I’m trying to get more veggies in and I was bored with romaine. Not a bad day, all things considered. I just have to regain my stamina for these longer runs.

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Today’s Workout: Setting off!

I’d meant to do the Nellie Bly missions a long time ago and despite characters talking over each other a bit too much for my liking, I like it! It’ll probably be like the last one and not include any zombies, which is fine. I enjoy the storytelling in this app. And this was another long 28 minute run and I think I need to take it easy. I’ve been going hard this week and after today’s run, I felt lightheaded. I’m a very hydrated girlie so, it wasn’t that. It was warmer than usual but I like to think I’m not that sensitive.

Right after my run, I ate my leftover hot pot and had one of the Eat Clean meals for dinner. Those aren’t half bad, but I wouldn’t buy them without the deep discount I’d won in a raffle. I grabbed a handful, cashed in the voucher, then immediately cancelled the subscription. These are handy for days like today where since I wasn’t feeling quite right, standing and chopping a bunch of ingredients to cook was out of the question. I also didn’t want to waste money on takeout; at least not during the week. I tend to save that for weekends as a treat for finishing all my chores on a Saturday. I work hard, I’m entitled to at least one day where I don’t have to cook. 

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Today’s Workout: Singing Snake

This was a fun side adventure. It really helped to distract me from having to run for 28 minutes straight (staring at the countdown timer is the WORST, I swear it makes everything feel longer) and I felt great after it was all said and done.

I snagged an apple to eat on the way towards the store after my run but I did treat myself to hot pot at home. I went heavy on the broccoli to load up on veggies but I wasn’t able to finish it all. I’ll probably have the rest tomorrow for lunch and It was so much food, this was more than enough for the whole day. So far, I’ve been averaging 7k steps a day for most of the month and I’m pretty proud of myself!

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Today’s Workout: My dogs are barkin’

After I did my run first thing in the morning, I cooled down and went right to walk to the store, then right into doing various chores. When I say my feet hurt, I am mostly whining but yeah, they are super sore, and my skin is freaking out that it’s been exposed to sunlight for more than 5 minutes. Don’t worry, I did use proper sun screen. I have enough problems. I’m not adding sun burn or skin cancer to the mix.

I had a left over patty from yesterday and since I wanted to get my shopping over with, I ate it on the way. By the time I sat down, I was feeling dizzy. Making dinner (yeah, I’m on a salad kick right now) was an adventure and I still feel kinda off kilter. Maybe I wasn’t hydrated enough? I have no idea. I still have at least two more runs to do this week so, I need to get it together.

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