How to get rid of some pounds and

save some bucks, when you work or have class downtown!

I just found the most amazing "new" hobby.

Lomography!

Which is essentially cheap analogue photography, with the most amazing pictures. The focus is to make many fun pictures, not perfect pictures. And while it previously annoyed me to not know if my pics are sharp and interesting, the uncertainty is now part of the fun. In fact my pics will be a great deal different from what I'm used too, since I've got the Lomo Fisheye2, distortion is now part of the game. Here are some lomography pics for you, but without the fisheye.

(bricolage by Kevin Dooley, http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/3598131614/)

"Most photography aims at capturing the special moment or place. Lomography aims at the routine moment or place. The use of film and bad cameras ensures that the image maintains its mundane gestalt. Most of our lives we see scenes like the one above through our eyes--that's what lomography is about." (from Kevin Dooley on flickr)

(Gastown Nighttime Lomography by kk+ http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/2576408024/)

But how is this going to save some bucks and get me to shed weight?

Well, instead of browsing the shops in my breaks, I will be out and about looking for interesting angles and pics. Which essentially will get my ass moving, without spending a lot of money. Okay, I have to invest some money in the 35mm films and in the development but that is a lot less money than when I buy a new pair of Jeans, design books (I've spend 50 € on them on Monday) or bags, hats, running clothes.... And what's also exciting about it, there is a big world wide community.

This afternoon Chris and me will go on photo safari. Can't wait. And since the sun shines, when we start out we'll have the most amazing light. Did I tell you that I can't WAIT?!!

Sports

Yesterday I went to the nutrition talk of my runners seminar. It was interesting, though I don't agree with everything that Dr. Feil told us. Well in any case I might know now a way to get my connective tissue on a good level and get rid of the cellulite.

And I've got my race shirt. It's in fact my second race shirt ever. It's black and, Tri Diesel will like to read this, from Brooks. Though it's a black mens shirt and that means wide and not very form fitting. Which I consider a good thing at this moment. ;-) And since this shirt is for the Leipzig Marathon, there is a lion on the back (lion is in our coat of arms). I'll take a picture and post it for you.

(Leipzig coat of arms http://www.glausius.de/images/leipzig.gif)

I took some pics yesterday evening, but since I took them with my lomo you'll have to wait a few days for them. At any rate I can't promise that they turned out well, because I experimented with the lighting time. And it's on my first and second film, so I still have to get used to this and they might be nothing but a big mess. (But that's part of the fun!!!)

Mampf Diary

Monday: chocolate protein shake, 1 ciabatta roll with goats cheese, 1 apple, 1 ciabatta roll with cheese, white fish filet and buttered green peas (yummy), tea and water all through the day

Tuesday: chocolate protein shake, 1 ciabatta roll with goats cheese, 1 piece of cake, 1 apple, 1 ciabatta roll with cheese, white fish filet and buttered green peas, 2 servings of chocolate pudding, tea and water all through the day

Today: chocolate protein shake, later: 1 roll with Teewurst, 1 roll with cheese, 1 radish ball, ?

So this is it for now. I'll keep you posted on the sports front.

Hey, Jenna aka reader No 10. Glad you're following me. Welcome.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!!

Snow, speed training and nutrition

No, I don't have the job yet. But if everything goes as they had planned I should be told today, if or if not. And the answering email from Tuesday was nice. I'll post the content of mine and theirs in the next post.

In the last few days it snowed a lot in Leipzig and gives it a real christmasly (does this word exist?) feeling. I still have to get some presents, even though I went shopping for them with my friend on Wednesday, but we did get distracted by earrings/necklaces and cosmetics. I even bought the Clinique holiday set, yeah I'm such a girl. So, I'll have to go again today and also finish that darned earring board for my friend.

Speed training
Yesterday was speedtraining and it snowed during the whole session. When I went to it, I had to wait for the street car and in front of the street lights the snow swirled in the air, it was stunningly beautiful, it looked like small diamonds flowing through the air. I wished I could have taken a picture for you. But I wouldn't have a clue how to take it. At least not with my Ixus.

Since I was too slow for the 6:30 group at the last training, I went with the fast beginners this time. And would you believe even them were too fast for me. They ran a 7:15 pace. And I couldn't keep up, because my friend asthma showed up for a long time no see. I guess it was the cold and the pace. So I fell back and ran my own pace back to the track. I got there and did my thing. The fast groups were on there and the slow beginners "group", which consisted of 2 girls. And yeah, they were to slow for me (the beginners, not the fast groups ;-). So I ran my own pace. What I found pretty interesting was, that I'm abled only on the track to control my pace to that extend that I stay under my anaerobe threshold for a whole hour. After that hour, I'll be running in the anaerob pulse no matter how slow I run. Bugger!

Yesterdays stats:
distance: approximately 7.5 km
time: 1:08:54 hr
in zone: 45:50 min. !!!! That is the best result ever. Does that mean I have to do all my training on the track?!!!
heartrate: 153 bpm

After the training I took my aminoacids. Yuk! But they do really help. I don't have sore muscles today.

Sunday will be the next long run/march. 20 km!! Thankfully a friend of mine will accompany me on the first half. She hasn't been training in the last few months and so isn't abled to do the whole distance. :.-( Which is sad, because I tend to get crazy on the last 2 km. I just want to sit down and wait for someone to pick me up. So I start to sing stuff off key and with no connection to the music I listen to. Or putting in little dancing steps or moves. And that is when I do 15 km, how crazy is this going to get when I do the 20?! HELP! Anyone?

Athletes Nutrition!
I read something really interesting a few days ago. We endurance athletes take 19% of our energy from proteins. Which means if you train or race an hour and you burn about 800 calories(I don't, but maybe you.), 19% of them, which are approximately 150 calories, come from proteins. That are 38g of protein per hour. Now think about how long an Ironman is! How much proteins you burn then, you literally burn your own muscles!!!
And what do we do before, during and after the big race? Shoveling carbohydrates in our mouths. No wonder that you need to rest for weeks afterwards and feel like you don't have any muscles at all at your first time back on the treadmill or bike or pool. (I never did an Ironman or triathlon, so I can exclude me here.) Because you didn't replace the burned protein! Endurance sports means burning fat and proteins, you don't need pasta, bread or waffles to race!
Get's one thinking, huh?

Oh, and I just found out, the New Years Run in Leipzig will be!! Yeah. Do you run a New Years Run?

KEEP RUNNING.

Ps: Welcome official reader No. 5.