|
|
|
|
|
The Marta Mathews diaries |
| By
Marta Mathews |
 |
October 13, 2003
It was really nice to be able to sleep in today. If only every Monday began
like today I would be a very happy athlete! Even plain oatmeal and egg
whites tasted yummier as I was able to enjoy them in the comfort of my bed!
Up until yesterday I religiously stuck to my sixty minutes of cardio a day.
In fact on a couple of occasions I did up to two hours a day! But when I got
up yesterday morning I found my energy dropping down to dangerously low
levels and therefore I decided
not to do any hard core cardio training. In
fact, I even stayed away from cardio today as I am suspicious I might have
been over training. I still lifted weights and went for a long walk outside,
but more than anything I just focused on keeping my diet clean which was
especially challenging in view of this being a Thanksgiving weekend. I am
still feeling strangely tired, but I expect to get better by tomorrow
following a good night's sleep which I intend to get tonight.
October 14, 2003
I had no time for cardio this morning due to my post-weekend work schedule,
but I do plan to do an hour on an elliptical machine later on this evening.
I managed to get plenty of sleep last night and I expect this short week to
be a little easier than last. My diet is as boring as ever, but my body is
getting all the nutrients it needs and with barely two weeks left to go I am
determined to just keep at it and stick with the program. I'm probably
overdosing a bit on Vitamin C today as I took as much as 6000 mg already,
but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Scientific
studies conclude that Vitamin
C is non-toxic so I don't think it will hurt me if I take more than I
actually need in my final days of preparation. Last thing I need right now
is to get sick and not be able to train. I'm hoping that the extra vitamins
and minerals I've been taking will help protect my temporarily vulnerable
immune system from any sort of flu bug or virus.
October 16, 2003
I'm glad this is a short week as I'm beginning to get tired again. I have
been getting enough sleep and enough food so I'm not sure what my body's
problem is. I suppose I'm just anxious to get this show done and over with.
I'm tired of having oatmeal, egg whites, chicken and veggies day in and day
out. I don't allow myself too many breaks in my final days of preparation
and I think it's my mental state more so than my physical state that is
making me feel the way I do. I need to find a way to put myself in a more
positive mode quickly or else I might not make it through the next couple of
weeks...
October 17, 2003
This week is insanely busy at work. I actually consider this to be a good
thing, as being busy takes my mind off of food and all the stress of getting
ready for the competition. I have
performed two hours of cardio yesterday
and an hour and a half today as I don't plan on doing any this weekend since
I have to catch up on my weight lifting.
I'm finding my mood to be very flighty this week. I tend to get overly
irritated with things that I wouldn't normally care about and then I get
irritated with myself for
getting irritated in the first place. Little
things can throw me off balance and as a result I'm trying to stay out of
everyone's way as I don't want to scare anyone by having an irritability
attack for no apparent reason. Having to justify my "problem" seems like too
much effort these days, so opting for solitude seems to be the best solution
as it prevents me from getting into any sort of trouble. In less than two
weeks my journey will be over (sort of since I'm not planning on giving up
my healthy lifestyle after the show) and I'm sure no one will hold any
grudges towards me for my temporary antisocial
behaviour.
October 18, 2003
As planned, I did not do any cardio this morning. I went to the gym around
noon and trained legs. It was a brutal workout even though I lifted light
weights. I did at least 20 reps and a
minimum of five sets per exercise with
a total of eight exercises. I expect the lactic acid to kick in overnight
since I have not trained legs in over seven days. A couple of regulars at
the gym have complimented me on the progress I seem to have made over the
last few weeks. Hearing that made me really happy as it's a sign my body is
responding to all the extra work I have
been putting it through lately not
to mention it gave me extra motivation to keep my pace up in these final
days of preparation.
|
|
To contact Marta email her at marta@fitness-events.com
|
|
|
|
|
