Sore, sore, sore

I DID IT!  I finally got back on the exercise train....whew, that was hard.  So, I got peer pressured into going out for soccer practice last Wednesday.  Thank goodness it was on astroturf, because I do not have cleats (excuse me, boots) yet.  The field is over 2 miles away.....so, I jogged/walked there to make it on time.  We are the Dick Vet Vixens, which are made up of all vet students from all years.  The experience levels range from never having played to those that have played in high school.  There were 4 other Americans at practice and about 4 or 5 UKers.  After warming up and doing some drills, it was time to scrimmage!  Some girls left early, so we were left with 4 vs 5.  I was on the 4 person team and 3 pretty good Americans were on the other.  They all have good skills.  I must say I am ecstatic with my performance.  It all seemed to come back and for a moment I felt like Pele!  I was able to trap the ball, dribble and even juke out some defenders to score some goals! I actually had some explosiveness in my step.  I think this ole lady even impressed some of the young'uns.  They asked after practice how long I'd been playing. I figured it was longer than some of them have been alive...YIKES. So, all in all, a fabulous decision.  The walk home was brutal and by the time I got back to my flat, my one foot felt like it was going to simply fall off. 

The next morning, my left heel hurt so bad I could barely walk, but after getting the moving parts lubricated a bit, it was ok.  There was practice again that evening, but I did not go.  For one, I was out at the farm all afternoon and had to run home to let the bugaboos out, but also my foot was still pretty sore, as were my legs now.  On Thursdays we practice in the Meadows which is SO convenient for me and on grass.  I still need to get cleats though.

And yesterday, I took this out:

It was my first time on the mountain bike since last May basically.  I went out with the EUCC  - Edinburgh University Cycling Club.  The men and women break up and go their separate ways.  There were 4 of us.  There is some pretty good mountain biking around here, but you have to get there first.  If you don't drive to the site, you bike.  It's about a 10-12 mile ride (depending on where you enter the Pentland Park), which I didn't know.  It took forever......and ever....  We did not ride very fast and stopped a bit, so it was fairly brutal.  When we got there, we only rode on basically flat trails and maybe 6 miles and then went home.  It was a 28 mile trek.  I was a bit disappointed in that I'm used to riding a lot harder and better trails.  I'm told there are many very good options at the Pentlands, so I'll have to give it some time.  It was so good to get some exercise on such a beautiful day and the scenery was breathtaking - fields of cows, horses, sheep, rivers, etc....  I should have brought my camera, but wasn't sure that was a good idea given I had not been on a bike in a while and uncertain as to what to expect as far as difficulty on the trails.  I will take it next time.  We got so muddy, we had to spray our bikes off at a gas station.  I got home, took a shower and laid down with the pooches for a bit. Then, I got up and ate everything in sight..nom nom nom.

Today it's overcast and drizzling a little.  It's a perfect day to stay in and revise my notes and read, which is what I'm going to do right now!

OH, and a friend convinced me to sign up for this:  http://www.mhsurvival.co.uk/page34.asp.  It's the Men's Health Survival of the Fittest 10K.  I am NOT a runner, but it has all kinds of obstacles on the course and is done right downtown. It looks like an absolute blast. I think we start at the castle esplanade!  It's a few short weeks away...Oct 17th....and I can't wait!

Ok, off to study and I will be back to post the cow naming contest results later today, so stay tuned!

Over-N-Out

Exercise???

Perhaps some of you have noticed that I have not mentioned the word 'exercise' once since I've been here?  I know.  That is because I have not exercised (other than 1 hour on the cruise) in about....oh......2 months, or so?  I'm not sure I can really count a few bike rides on the beach in Hilton Head, so it is closer to 3 months.  Although, before that is when I had broken my wrist and couldn't do hardly anything...so.... well, you get the point.  It's been a looong time.  Do I miss it?  Not so much.  The only thing I miss is getting a good sweat on and knowing that I usually feel so much better afterwards.

I think the reason the exercise thing has not been such a big deal is because I am walking an inordinate amount since being here.  Walking is a mode of transportation for me, so I do not dawdle.  I walk fast anyways, but now it's even faster because I'm usually anxious to get to my destination and it's not just a 'walk in the park'.  I'm not sure how many miles I put in a day, but it's a lot.

Here is the schedule.  I walk the dogs for 30 minutes at 8am.  At 830, I leave my flat to walk to class (10 minutes at a very fast pace).  I then sit in lecture for 2 hours and walk back to my flat.  I take the dogs for a 10-15 minute walk.  If I don't have to go back to school, I may take them down to the park to play...this is a 30 minute outing.  Come back, make a sandwich and walk back to school.  Or, if not in class, walk to the grocery, to a meeting for a society, downtown to the bank, etc. 

Another dog walk in the evening before I settle in to study or before I head out to whatever I'm doing.  I usually have 3-4 nights where something is going on and of course, I walk there.

So, I'm not really feeling like I'm not getting any exercise, I'm just not getting the cardio or resistance training that I've been used to.  And frankly, I do not necessarily feel like exercising after all of that walking.  But, I have to.  So, I think I'm going to start P90X again here in the comfort of my flat. Because, I need to sweat and I need all of the benefits of exercise again.  I should start my program today.  Should.  We will see. P90X is an intense program on DVD's and it had a lot of resistance training - pushups, pullups, dips, etc and also has some cardio- 'kickboxing', plyometrics, yoga (not really cardio, but it does make me sweat), etc. It is a great regime and does work. My pants are pretty much hanging off me at this point and all of my belts are on the last notch.  I'm certainly not complaining about this, but I do need to start toning up the muscles again....skinny arms and legs are not my thing. 

I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I was thinking of joining the women's rugby or football (soccer) teams.  Yes, that still gets my competitive juices flowing, but I am not so sure it is a good idea.  For one, my feet are already KILLING me.  Here is a picture of one reason why:

No, that is not the picture of a happy foot.  I've had the bunion for a while now and it has affected me in some of my footwear choices, but it is now a large problem.  This foot is now problematic and my footwear is critically important with all of this walking.  I wore some 'cute' shoes the other night and boy did I pay for it afterwards. The bone associated with the ball of your foot was actually throbbing and painful. This is the same foot I tore the plantar fascia about 2 years ago training in Vegas, so it's understandable why I'm having trouble with it. 

With the feet thing, playing a sport where I have to run around on them is not something that is going to help.  Plus, I figured if I busted an ankle or something, that will severely affect my commute, which I cannot afford to compromise.  I also talked myself out of it because they practice at a field that is not easily commutable for me two nights a week.  It would involve a bus ride or bike (which I decided not to buy another one). Instead, I decided to try and hook up with the mountain biking team (which I have yet to do), start swimming some (there is a place a block away), or figure out something else that is not going to be so stressful on the big, ugly dawgs.  Plus, I've done the whole college athetics once already and now I'm concentrating on some academic and social societies instead.  These take up a portion of my time, but it is going to be time well spent.  I'll post on my societies at some other time, once I am certain of which ones I'm going to be a member.

I'll keep you all posted, but I do believe I'm starting with P90x and concentrating on some upper body stuff for now and the rest should fall into place. Now that I've procrastinated enough, I think I'll take the Boyz to the park and consider going shopping...ugh.

Over-N-Out