I’ve been having a very down day today. It’s a multitude of things ranging from being generally sad about the state of the world (and feeling helpless to change it) to my own personal feelings of inadequacy. Sometimes I feel like I’ll never measure up to the standards I set for myself; sometimes giving up and plodding through without dreaming of something bigger feels like the only option.
I was so bummed today. The only thing that got me through my day was putting on my pick-me-up playlist on my iPod. Particularly this track…
It also helps to picture it in the context of the epic Almost Famous sing-along scene. You can’t NOT smile and feel better after that.
Computers and guitars… I swear you can’t do anything in this house without tripping over one or the other. (Or both.) It’s kind of funny, really. There’s certainly no question what hobbies we enjoy…
(I’m just pleased as can be with how this photo turned out, so I just had to share it.)
Today was my very first workout in the Couch-to-5K program, which entails:
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
Even this morning as I was walking out of the locker room and into the gym, I was thinking, I can’t do this. I figured that couch-to-5K is one thing … but overweight, extremely out-of-shape couch potato is another. And that would be me. I hopped on the treadmill anticipating failure, and assuming I’d have to do a “remedial” C25K to even build up to being able to do the week 1 workout.
Imagine my shock when, 30 minutes later, I finished my cool-down walk feeling great. I followed the program to the letter. I ran all the time I was supposed to run, and walked only when it was allowed. In other words, I did it. Without sounding too arrogant … I’m proud of myself.
This cute little panel on the treadmill was my best friend today. It has buttons for Walk (2 MPH), Jog (4 MPH) and Run (6 MPH). So instead of having to adjust the speed with the up/down arrow, I could hit one button and jump to the speed I was looking for. The jogging pace (4 MPH) was perfect for me right now. The walking pace was too slow, so I’d hit that button and then turn it up between 2.5-3 MPH.
I’ll let you in on two secrets that I think really helped me out…
This little app is fan-damn-tastic! You load up your favorite music playlist, pick the week/workout you’re on, and hit start. Your music starts and you’re off … the app keeps your time, letting you know where you’re at in the workout. A voiceover and a “ting”-sound let you know when to switch from walking to running. The best part? You can glance down at any time and see how many more seconds you have to run before you can walk again … which helps keep you motivated to run those 5 more seconds even if you think you need to quit. When you’re done you can record info about your run and even share it on Twitter or Facebook. Really, really cool. (Kudos to this app developer!)
TWO: Running Cadences.
I will be the first person to admit how cheesy this sounds. But trust me here. I was on Amazon.com looking for iPhone armbands for running and stumbled upon someones “Listmania” recommendations where they suggested loading up your iPod with military running cadences for inspiration. So I downloaded this one and tried it out today.
I felt stupid. I double- and triple-checked that no one could hear my music. ‘Cause a fat girl running to cadence is pretty damn laughable, ya know? But you know what else? It worked fabulously. At 4 MPH, it kept me moving on pace perfectly.
Tuesday is going to be my next workout. I think next time I’m going swimming afterward too (I wanted to today, but didn’t have my swimsuit with me). Could it be? Might I become a gym-rat? Ha ha. Too early to tell.
We got to meet Corey Taylor and the rest of the guys from Stone Sour. I got the cover of their CD single autographed.
The Jägermeister stage featured: As Summer Dies, Hail the Villain, New Medicine, Airborne and HellYeah. Hail the Villain was freakin’ amazing. They’re big in Canada but haven’t made as much of a name for themselves here in the US yet, unfortunately. As Summer Dies (a local Buffalo, NY band) was pretty great too.
I liked Halestorm pretty well; Mike and I agreed their drummer, Arejay Hale, is freakin’ amazing and SO fun to watch.
Stone Sour, sadly, fell a little flat. Still totally worth seeing … but somehow they seemed sort of disinterested in performing? Maybe it was just me.
A7X flat out stole the show. Check out how they opened their set…
(Uh, yah. That may have been me screaming when the guy jumped out of the rafters there.)
A7X’s tribute to The Rev was a tear-jerker. Mike Portney (the drummer from Dream Theater) really held his own though, and it was great to see fans giving him a warm welcome.
While I think A7X could have easily carried the show themselves, getting to see Disturbed was just a bonus. I can’t believe this year marks the 10-year anniversary of The Sickness being released.
Yup. Happy times.
P.S. There are more photos on my Flickr photoset for Uproar Fest – here.
