Wow, where does the time go? I didn't realize two months had passed since my last blog.
I suffered the loss of California Chrome's bid for the Triple Crown this year. I've now seen 6 TC near misses in 12 years. SIX! Actually, it's more than six...Those 6 are the ones who completed the Kentucky/Derby duo...There have been a few Preakness/Belmont duos (e.g., Afleet Alex). So, in actuality, it's more than 6, but you get the point...it's been a lot! Of all those, California Chrome has been the only horse that I seriously got excited to win. Not to say I wasn't excited for any of the previous 5 horses to win, but it wasn't the same emotional level and excitement. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact he's a Cal-bred horse and Cal-breds aren't the cream of the crop. To be fair, there's a whole "stigma" sometimes from the East Coast towards the West Coast. So, I get overly excited when West Coast horses make a huge impact. Not to say that the West Coast never produces good horses, there have been a lot of them, but you know...rivalry? At any rate, it was hard seeing him lose, but it's time to move on! They're resting him for about 2 weeks for his foot injury he sustained in the race and then will send him to the ranch he was born at to run in a pasture for 6-ish weeks. It'll be a nice rest for him.
I was sort of hoping he'd be able run in the Travers at the end of August, but if they're resting him for 2 months, he won't be ready for the Travers. The Travers is a major 3YO race in the summer. At this point, I'm just hoping Chrome wins 3YO Honors at the end of the year. If Tonalist has a good rest of the year and Chrome doesn't regain form, it's possible he'll lose 3YO Honors to Tonalist. On the flipside, if they both meet in the Breeders' Cup Classic, and one prevails over the other...whoever is ahead might win 3YO Honors too. So...we'll see! I'm excited to go to the Breeders' Cup November 1st because Chrome might be there! I need to figure out what I'm wearing still and if he does go, I might need to make a sign! I'm really glad we have Clubhouse seats now because I can stand right at the rail (along with the masses of other people) when the horses walk out to the track and see him. So, yup, those seat prices will be worth it. :)
In other TC news...There are grumblings about moving the spacing of the Triple Crown races. To be fair, they haven't been the 2 weeks between Kentucky Derby and Preakness and 3 weeks between Preakness and Belmont for all of time. This recent set-up has been the case since the late 60's, I think, but it's NEVER been as far spaced as what some people want it to be (4 weeks in between each race). This is a LONG time. It's been interesting to read the news article comments because people come up with interesting ideas, responses, and facts. I'm in the camp not to respace the races, but I can see the other arguments too. It's supposed to be hard, but our modern day horses and races are not set-up to what they were back in the 70's. At the same time, I think spacing them out longer might make it a little easier, but the UK proves that point wrong since they have a month in between each of their Triple Crown races and haven't seen a TC winner since 1970...? 1969...? Just a little longer than us, but none-the-less longer. So...I don't know. Personally, I think it's silly to think the other races will move their races (well, mostly, that the Belmont will move its race; the Kentucky Derby can stay where it is with no impact on the others). The race set-up is the best for them. If they move them, also, the Haskell at the end of July will be bumping into only 3 weeks away from the Belmont. So, who knows. We'll see if things change. Personally, the point is for it to be hard and we have history to compare. If you change it, then it just gets confusing and I think we'll see a TC winner soon.
So, few days before the Belmont, I decided to calorie count and exercise daily. I've been off-and-on exercising for the past few years, but nothing regularly. I'd get on a kick for about a month or few weeks and then stop. My last kick was when I injured my back. Since getting my back mostly figured out, I think I've been gun-shy to start up again. Let's face it, injury to the same part of my back during two major exercise stints? Yeah, I'm going to be hesitant about trying again. For the record, I was doing two different exercise routines when I hurt my back. Anyway, my Manager has been on a diet since February (restrictive diet) to help his liver and has lost a good amount of weight since then. On top of it, since I'm not eating fast food often (maybe once every few weeks) and cooking at home, I haven't been really losing weight. Mostly, I think it's because my sugar consumption hasn't decreased at all. Sure, I've stopped eating bagels and donuts the end of last year, but still. I had dropped like a couple of pounds, but I'd fluctuate around my weight. So, in actuality, I wasn't losing anything. I wasn't gaining anything either, but...it's time.
So, I downloaded MyFitnessPal onto my phone to count my calories. The nice thing about it is it gives me a a calorie count to aim for on a daily basis to help loose weight. It's not perfect calorie counting, but at least it's a ballpark and it makes me think about what I'm eating. I'm not dieting because I'm not restricting what I eat or how much I eat, but I am conscious of WHAT I eat and how much of it I eat. Honestly, that's what I really needed. It's amazing how much I would forget I had eaten and, to top it off, most of the things I would forget would be "empty calories." So, calorie counting it is and it's helping.
Wednesday, I ate a donut. Oh man, it was glorious. I haven't eaten a donut in months. So, I ate the donut, but didn't eat other things instead. Unfortunately, the thing I gave up (happened to be the same calorie count) was something that was substantial I normally ate on my break. The difference in food choices was amazing. I was STARVING by the end of work (even with lunch), whereas most times I'm fine. The donut was glorious to eat, but it was empty calories, which made me hungry by the end of my day. Normally, I'd have eaten both items and not been hungry, but also not "noticed" the donut calories at all. With the calorie counting, I noticed the empty calories, which was one of the first times I really went, "Ohh...now I know what everyone means by "empty calories.""
Calorie counting has also gotten my sugar consumption down. I used to eat a lot of candy, but now I'm restricting myself to a fruit roll up here-and-there. They're only 50 calories, but they're fruity and semi-chewy. Since they're also in a single package, I can consume an entire package and not feel guilty! Seriously, there's no "portion control" when it comes to a package of Starburst or Skittles... :) I know I'll get to a point that I can portion control or have a splurge day, but it's good that I don't do it now. If anything, it's like an addiction to candy and it's best I go cold turkey. So, other than the candy, I really haven't craved anything I've cut out because it's not that I'm telling myself I CAN'T eat it. I'm weighing the pros and cons of it so it's my choice. Thankfully, I've never been a big soda drinker so I don't miss that at all. I've also been, on a fluke, weaning myself off fruit drinks so the transition to more water a day hasn't been too bad. I drink fruit juice like once a day now instead of all day.
Calorie counting is also helping me exercise on a regular basis because the cardio helps take calories off and it's good for my back. I'm stretching nightly now. I've known for a month or two now that my back has been mostly okay, but the problem was my back muscles had weakened during my injury. During my injury, I wasn't bending or doing much with my back muscles because it hurt. Now that it's better, the stretching and cardio has helped to strengthen my back (don't take it for granted you can bend over and hold yourself up without leaning on your counter to wash your face or brush your teeth). I still sometimes wake up in pain and stiff in the mornings, but once I stretch it out, I'm feeling pretty good. I still need to be careful with my back, but at least I don't feel like I'm going to fall onto the oven door when I'm putting food into it anymore. :P
Anyway, other than that, things are about the norm. :) I finally watched Her so I'll get a long movie review up and then an post-Oscars piece up.
