L-A-Z-Y

This has been a really bad week for me. The lack of classes is ruining my determination. Generally, Jennifer and I would have headed to BodyPump on Saturday morning at 9am. Then, if I was lucky, I could convince her to stay for 30 minutes to an hour for cardio. We'd go have bagels afterward, and be ready for the day by 12. This Saturday, I woke up around 10:20, spent some time looking at the Internet and watching Michelle Obama's Convention speech. I waited for Jennifer to spend some time talking to her mom. Finally, we were ready to go to the gym at about 11:45, when we realize that we're hungry and can't wait until after we workout. So we go to lunch, do a little shopping/returning, etc... Needless to say, we never made it to the gym. Today I was determined to go, but never did. I did mow my mother's lawn for about 1.25 hours. I sweated a lot, but that might just have been because it was so hot out. I still considered it my cardio for the day, and she paid me. So I found my dream: getting paid to workout! Overall, I have just been lazy the last few days. It has been pretty hot; not having AC in my car wears me out. I feel super guilty, but sometimes you just need to take a little time off. I say it all the time, but I am going to start fresh tomorrow. I have the day off, for Labor day, and I plan on getting up early (9ish) and getting a great start to a new me!

I blame Obama

Last night after I finished having a very unhealthy (yet delicious) meal with my mom, I began watching the Democratic Convention on CNN. I had previously told myself I could watch Obama's speech while I was at the gym. However, when I started watching at 8:00 (at my mom's house) I thought he was going to come on any minute. They kept saying: Up Next, Obama's Big Speech. So I kept watching, not wanting to miss it in the timeit would take to drive home, change and get the gym. Well, he didn't speak until 9:15. And it wasn't just some quick speech; no, it lasted 45 minutes. By the time that was all over I was not going to make it. So, I told myself I would get up and run hills this morning. But out of the blue Jennifer had to work at 8:00 and didn't want to do it. It's a lot harder getting up in the morning if you don't have anyone counting on you. So I didn't. Now it's Friday and I have only worked out three hours this week. I have another three planned for this weekend; I guess that's all I am going to get done.

Anyway, it was a great speech. I just know that Barack Obama is going to be our next President. I am thinking that I will start campaigning for him. I would really like to go door-to-door. That would give me something free to do in my evenings and would include a small workout (walking). How can you not love Obama? He believes in my ability to change the world! And that's something you all should believe in!

Money Diet

Beginning September 1st (Monday) I am putting myself on a strict money diet. I absolutely need to start saving up for a new car. The one I have has no air conditioning, so I must unload it before Summer comes around again. It has been hard enough just getting through August; which has actually had really lovely weather. So I need to change my saving routine from: nothing to: $500 a month. In order to do this, I must learn to live on just $60 a week. This won't include bills or even gas for my car. It will include all eating (out and in) and all shopping (clothes and shampoo). I believe this is manageable if I do plenty of planning. It is also going to be great for my eating "diet". We all know that eating out is too costly, both on my waist band and my wallet. So I will be eating in more often, making dinners and surviving on cereal. It's too bad that healthy foods cost more than cheap processed crap.

For about four days last week my weight went up a pound. Every morning was more depressing as I saw the number on the scale grow and grow and grow. But the last three days it has gone down a pound each morning. And although I don't know what is causing it, I really like it.

I took yesterday off to rest. I also was busy all evening going to the state fair. Today I have dinner plans with my mom, but I am hoping to hit the gym this evening for some cardio and weights. I am sad again today because it was suppose to be the beginning of my Thursday afternoon Combat class. I was off at 2:00 today so I could take that class, but instead I came home and ate. I had a house inspector coming to look at my house this afternoon, otherwise I would have gone to the gym anyway with my time off. Excuses, excuses.

Up and At 'Em

Jennifer and I pealed ourselves out of bed this morning to go for a nice (and I mean that term loosely) 30 minute run. We were assigned to run speed intervals today. I was a tad worried about doing them outside, as opposed to on the treadmill where I could see hoe fast I was going. But it worked out smashingly. I ran faster outside than I would have inside. And the outdoor surroundings gave us something to run towards. We warmed up for 5 minutes, alternated running (pretty fast: 10mph) and walking (pretty slow) for 20 minutes and then walked home for 5 minutes. In those 20 minutes we went about 1.75 miles and averaged a little over 12 minute miles (which is what we did in the race). It makes it a lot easier to go fast when you know it will be over in a minute. And outside we had the benefit (torture?) of hills. I'm proud of Jennifer for getting up and going with me this morning. I wouldn't have gone if she hadn't said okay. (Don't tell her that though!) I am giving her a gold star for today's workout even though she won't be completing the lifting weight portion of today's goals. Maybe she can lift Logan a few times instead. The best part of it all was that I only set my alarm 20 minutes earlier than usual. I just knew I had something to do and got it in before it was time to get ready for work.

After work I am meeting Brandy at the gym. I love all these workout dates! I hope to do another 30 minutes of cardio, perhaps the AMT machine. Then I plan to head up to the weight room. Tonight is not the time to try the big-men's weight area, after work is always busy. I will go in there some Saturday morning when it's dead or maybe late at night with a friend. Tonight I just want to do what I did last time: 3 sets of 10 at the same weights. Maybe Saturday I will go over to Goodyear Fitness Center and see what they have to say. It's nice to think classes are within my reach.

Wrong Direction

I didn't even want to post my weight this morning because I am so embarrassed by it, but then I realized that is even more reason to post it on here. It was up to 20 pounds, three pounds higher than last Monday. I am so mad at myself. At least I understand why it is so high. I haven't been writing down what I eat. I have been eating out all the time. I ate 2.5 brownies the other night, and a piece of cake at my mom's house. I have to stop. This week won't be much better. I have plans to eat out a lot and I am going to the state fair. But starting September 1st I am going to starve those pounds off.

I woke up this morning to very sore calves. I am not sure what caused this since I tried several new things yesterday. It probably wasn't the hill running because I have done that before and don't remember my calves ever hurting from it. But there were a few times during the hills that I made myself pick up my knees more than usual, so perhaps that could have done it. Then there was the recumbent bike that Brandy and I used at the gym yesterday morning. I rarely used those and we actually had it working right, so it could have used my calves more than normal. My best guess is that new AMT machine. Whatever it was, I want to use it again and again. I have never found something that would wear out my calves before.

Jennifer and I had today off from work. It's lovely to have three-day weekends. And I figure the more Mondays I take vacation, the less people can call in sick. So we went for a bike ride this morning. We were gone about 40 minutes when my knee really started hurting. I think I did something to it on the first hill out of our neighborhood. I had to get off and walk a few times because it hurt to pedal. It still hurts a little even now, but I am hoping that it will go away without any problems. I would hate to hurt myself permanently on some silly bike ride.

Oh, and I meant to give a small shout-out to the weight machines. Yesterday I had muscles that were sore. My triceps and back muscles definitely got a workout in the weight room on Saturday. This gives me even more motivation to attend (punch card) classes twice a week and make myself use the weight room once a week. There are muscles that I am not using in BodyPump or at least not as much. Maybe that weight room will end up being good for me!

The Hills, Take Two

Today on my agenda was running hills. That's really something that I have to do outside. Which is why I switched today's planned 5k run with yesterday on the schedule. However, Brandy wanted to meet at the gym this morning and I didn't want to waste an opportunity of partnering up at the gym, so I met her there. With her help we tried out all the new equipment. First, we used the boring new elliptical machines. Nothing different there, except these don't tell you calories burned per minute, which I always kind of liked -- it motivated me. Then we hopped on the new elliptical/stepper/standing bike machines. I wish I knew a name for these. Depending on how you change your stride you go from running to biking to stepping all with little to know impact. All I know is that I was sweating quite a bit, so it must be a good thing. Then we tried out the new bikes. Again, nothing that different, but it's nice to have bikes that actually work again. I didn't feel like my heart/lungs were working very hard but my legs were burning. All that made the hour at the gym fly by.

Then I spent a super-high calorie day with my mom and family members. So about 7:30 I came home from that and went outside to run those hills. I did all four of them this time. I sprinted down at about 8.5 mph and walked back up. It was a total of 2 miles and it took me about 25 minutes. It's not hard to run downhill but my legs sure feel wobbly at the end and I am out of breath and sweaty. It was a beautiful evening though; a cool breeze and little humidity. I love to workout for a half an hour. When you're used to an hour long workout, 30 minutes just flies by. And when I don't have to drive to the gym it's over as soon as it starts. These kind of workouts would be a great thing to add to my morning routine. I just wish I was able to get out of bed on time as it is. Sneaking today's workouts in got me six hours this week. Even with all my depression about the classes I managed to have an alright week. Although, I ate like crap and that's why my scale seems to be moving up. I guess I will have to try harder tomorrow. Someone is going to have to remove the M&Ms from my house though!

Emergency Stop

Today was the first day that I actually missed class. I wouldn't have been bale to go to any until this morning anyway, so this is when I actually felt it. Without a class there is nothing that gets me to the gym at a certain time. Jennifer doesn't like to get up to go to the gym earlier than she gets up for work. And getting her there at 9am was always a challenge anyway. So I agreed that we could sleep in a little today and go slightly later. It helped that Brandy was going, so she called when she was on her way. I need more people like that, who I can't bail out on or convince to go later. I had hoped to run a 5k this morning, going at a 13-mile pace (pretty easy, but still good practice). It was going alright. The gym was warm even though I had 1/3 of a fan on me. Hardly anyone was there (looks like they solved their parking problem!) but I struggled none the less. After a mile I let myself walk a little, then I walked a little more after two miles. Somewhere around 2.5 miles Brandy had to go home, so Elijah came over to say goodbye. As I turned to talk to him I hit the emergency stop button and all was lost. I just couldn't bring myself to continue, I didn't even know how far I had gone. I just gave up. It doesn't help that I have a bad attitude about the gym right now.


Then Jennifer and I (and it just so happens my BodyPump friend Mary) went up to the women's weight room to figure out a good weight routine. I was pretty impressed. I was able to do tire myself with the weight machines. I added 50 lunges and a little ab work on the floor and called it a workout. The hardest thing to maintain will be my squat abilities. I can't find a machine to do that, and the body bars only go up to 18 pounds. I need to be able to put 40-50 pounds on my back. I will probably have to brave the men's weight room someday. I did three sets of ten reps; how does everybody feel about that? I always skip the weight lifting articles in my magazines, I thought I had it all figured out! Here are the weights I used. I am posting them here so I can see if I improve in the next few months. I wonder how much I lifted when I used to use the machines three-years ago.

• Shoulders- 75 pounds
• Back - 48 pounds
• Chest - 37 pounds
• Quads - 62.5 pounds
• Hamstrings - 40 pounds
• Triceps - 40 pounds
• Biceps - 25 pounds
• Reverse Back/Chest Machine - 50 pounds

Our Pump friend Mary, who is friends with the instructors says that Marika is going to teach Saturday classes (combat, pump) in Omaha. That's you Jen! I will be eager to see how you like her. I am 50% torn between her good teaching ability and her vanity. A few of the teachers are also moving over to Goodyear fitness, which is super close to my place of employment. Although I am not sure if I want to actually join (they are giving discounts to Gold's members right now) I am interested in their punch card option. For $60 you can get a 15 punch card. Then I could continue to workout at my mean gym with plenty of parking and still take a few classes each week at Goodyear. Still, if I went to classes three times a week, at $4 a time, that's $48 per month. I might as well belong to another gym for that. I could just go twice a week and take a few classes each time! I will have to check into it.

8 Week Running Plan

Here is my new plan. Either blogger won't let me upload Word files to my blog or I am just technologically unsavvy. But hey, I do have a Master's Degree in Information Technology. I guess that's how I found a way around this debacle. I made a chart, printed it off, took a picture of it and uploaded the photo instead. So, it's a little blurry, but I think readable.

The plan consists of 4 running days. Tuesdays running speed intervals (what I did yesterday, going fast and then slow, eventually I will be doing more than just one minute.) Thursdays I usually have more time, so I want to do some slow running. Running books always say to schedule a nice long run, where you don't care about speed and time. Well that doesn't make sense to me, because I always care about speed and time and really no running can be classified as "nice". So instead I have a "slow" day where I run the given distance (generally more than a 5k) at any rate I wish. No pressure! On Saturdays I will work on running hills. This is an outdoor activity, so I may want to move it to a day I am not in the gym already. As I did last week, I will run down my .25 mile hill and walk/jog back up. Finally, Sunday is 5k day. I will attempt to run a 5k every Sunday, getting faster each week. I will allow myself to take breaks if necessary, but I will do the whole 3.1 miles. Of course there is also a day to do other stuff, like try out the super-cool new equipment in the gym. (That's me trying to be positive!) And there are three days of weight training that I have yet to discover! Good luck to me!

I am trying to get Jennifer to follow along. She is planning on running the 5k in Atlanta with us. She is hesitant, but I told her I would give her a star for each day she followed the plan (rest days excluded) and after ten stars, I will buy her lunch at Subway. Who can beat that? I wish someone would buy me lunch for following the plan. It's a lot cheaper for me than hiring a personal trainer though. And will probably motivate me to get to the gym more too.

Shock It to Rock It

I read this expression in a magazine this morning and I knew it was a sign. I have been at a plateau for the last three months. It is time I try something different and shock my body into shape. And I am trying to see this horrific shake-up of my workout routine as just the jolt I need to try something new. For the next eight weeks I am going to be working on running a lot (four times a week). I am in the process of revamping my eight-week running plan, now that the classes will all have to be erased. This will get me in perfect form to run that 5k in Atlanta. I will also be including some fun cardio, such as a bike ride outside or stair climbing. Of course I still want to work on strength training so I don't lose these awesome muscles I have built. So on Saturday I am going to go into the weight room at they gym. I haven't decided if I can brave the big-men's room yet, or if it will just be the women's weight room. I am going to attempt to fatigue my muscles using the machines and the free weights. I am hoping to come up with a program to do this three times a week. Hopefully I can spend an hour of workout time in there and get my heart rate up some as well.

My gym-induced-depression has impacted my working out quite a bit this week. Monday I did the last Combat class; Tuesday I did the last Pump class. I was too sad afterward to stay for any cardio. Yesterday I ended up working a twelve hour day because of sick workmates. So needless to say, I didn't make it to the gym after that. I made myself go this morning to work on running speed intervals. I did 11-minute miles for one minute and then walked one minute for 30 minutes. There were maintenance men all around me installing new equipment, so it was hard for me to hop on another machine. Also, listening to them put new machines in reminded me of how they were removing the only thing that mattered to me at the gym, which made me nauseous, and I went home after that 30 minutes on the treadmill. I wish I knew some people who would workout with me in Lincoln. I need a reason to go back to the gym. So if anyone wants to schedule some workout dates, let me know!

Heart Broken

As many of you know, because I have called you in an outrage, my gym is no longer (after tonight) holding classes. Their claim is that the classes require too many parking spots and parking is too difficult at our location. Instead they are going to fill the classroom with high end cardio equipment (as if that's supposed to make us forget the fact that they are taking away everything worthwhile). Now most of you will have the normal "WTF" response where you question any gyms ability to not offer group fitness and the method of eliminating them in two days. But for some reason I am taking this really hard. I am indeed heart broken. I have cried about it. And if you are not addicted to the classes then you wouldn't understand and think I am silly. But as people who love to run (which is not me) would say they are addicted to running and get a runner's high, I am addicted to these classes and the motivation and enjoyment and results they provide. Without them I feel like my workout life is over. Really! There is NO way I can spend seven hours at the gym and devote it all to cardio. I have never been able to get the same muscle sculpting ability when using free weight or weight machines. I need that high-energy motivation that the classes provide. So currently I am sick.

What to do now? Jennifer and I spent hours last night researching gyms in the area. Most of them are a lot more money, which I really can't afford. But truly, I would say that money is no object. If I could get my classes back at my gym I would pay more, I would agree to pay per class, I would sign contracts. But I can't get my classes back. There are no other gyms that offer the exact thing I am used to. So I would have to switch to new instructors, new methods, 45 minute classes, a longer drive time, kids in the gym. None of that makes me happy. And besides, I have paid through next February and should really continue to get those benefits. So I think my best option now is to hire a personal trainer. I dread it. I hate to give my gym any more money for being assholes. I hate to reward them for this. And yes I plan to call the gym manager to explain my frustration. To make him realize that I will walk, and six other gym members will go with me! But that won't change his mind. It's done.

I realize that this is a dependency. I need to accept the fact that I can lose these last 17 pounds without the classes. I can run, inside and out now. I can still lift weights. I can use the new cool machines that sure as hell better be state of the art. But for the last year and a half I have done really well at losing weight and I have those classes and those instructors to thank for it. I don't think I could have done it without them. And for the most part, I am very scared right now.

Repetitious Repetitious...

said the New York Times. I sound like a broken record. Some weeks are good, other's aren't and now my weight is back up to 17 pounds. I am obviously doing something wrong. This week it was a) eating out too much, b) only working out 4 hours and c) not writing down everything I am eating and therefore eating like crap and doing so mindlessly! So all that is going to stop. Do you realize that I have weighed this same amount since the beginning of May. I was right when I said it was too hard to lose weight during the summer. But let's face facts: Summer is over. I'm only down a half-a-pound in my challenge with my mother. She is down 2 pounds. I am losing! I must work harder. I am going to go back to writing in a food journal (my online subscription has expired, so I will go back to the paper method).

These are my goals for this week:
1. Get 8 hours of sleep each night (turn off the Olympics).
2. Drink 8 glasses of water each day.
3. Only eat out 4 times (hey, I am trying to use the dining card).
4. Begin my 8 week running plan, which I will discuss in more detail later.
5. Write down everything I eat, and remain under 1300 calories per day.

How to Fix a Broken Scale

All week long my scale has read 16 pounds. It doesn't go up at night. It's the same thing every single morning. Sometimes I think it is broken. How can it be affected by nothing. It doesn't matter how many clothes I'm wearing or even if my hair is wet. How is that scientifically possible. So today I took a five pound weight in with me. It moved up four pounds. Hmmmm? Is the five pound weight wrong or my scale? I got on again without the weight. I am done to 15 pounds! It's fixed. Too bad I can't do that 15 more times and be done!

Naps are my Friend

I was up until about 1:30 last night watching the Olympics. So it was extra difficult to get up this morning at 8 when my alarm went off. And my ankles/shins have been pretty sore from my hill running on Thursday morning. I don't know it is the act of running down the hill, or if it was the pounding on the pavement, or the fact that I was going so much faster than I was used to. I wish something worthwhile hurt like my quads or my calves. Nope, I am going to have strong ankles! Or shin-splints. Whatever. But I dragged myself to BodyPump this morning regardless of my exhaustion/soreness. Some dumb people had our usual spots. So Jennifer and I set up on the left side of the room. We thought Ryan would mention this, because we are always on the right (even in Combat). Apparently he doesn't care about us at all. I don't think he even said hi this morning. Maybe he's having marital problems!

I had planned on staying for some cardio, or possibly going back this afternoon for some. But it's almost two o'clock and I am getting ready for a nap. I am sitting on my bed, with my window open and it is beautiful. The breeze is blowing in and it's shady. If this is what all of August is gonna be, sign me up! I also have to get some housekeeping things done. So it doesn't look like the gym is in my future today. It doesn't seem to matter. My scale as remained at the same number for six days. It doesn't care if I workout hardcore. It doesn't even care if I eat three cookies (which I did last night). I care though. Move dammit, move!

Summer Olympics

Michael Phelps! Is it wrong to hate him? Just a little bit? Sure he's a great athlete. Sure, he has dedicated his life to something and has made himself the best in he world. Yeah, that's great and all... but it's not like he's the all time best athlete in the world. Just because he's won more gold medals than anyone else; maybe he should try a different sport. Like Gymnastics. There's only one medal to be had there. Let's see him do all those routines and come out with only one thing to show for it. Or not! And just because he had a pool as a boy. Some of us didn't grow up with pools, and it's pretty hard to become an Olympic Athlete this late in the game. And part of me hates him because he eats 12,000 calories a day. That is six times the average man. That is ten days worth for me. I'm hungry too Michael.

It seems all I do lately is watch the Olympics. They are addicting. In a car wreck kind of way. They don't inspire me. I watched starving women run a 10K tonight in under 30 minutes. Jennifer pointed out that was twice the distance we went last weekend and almost ten minutes faster. That's not inspiration. I want to see real people. I want to see real competition. Remember when Tanya Harding's posse took out Nancy Kerrigan's knee? Now that's what the Olympics are about. Rivalry. I can spend an hour watching Badminton. An hour I could be working out, but instead I sit and stare. I can't stop. I can't look away. History is being made. Someone might fall out of their canoe, or win a race by the length of a fingernail, or God-forbid, hit their head on a diving board. And I want to be watching. But I also want to be inspired. Perhaps that 41 year old swimmer who quit sports to have a family and is now back at it and is twice as old as her competitors could be my inspiration? When is she on again? And why are you allowed to be so fat when you throw a shot-put? Don't tell me that is muscle. It's fat. Those are the guys drinking beer the night before their event. Maybe that's a sport I could excel at.

Harder than it Looks

Today I finally got to start on my running plan. You know, the running plan that I was excited to start but haven't actually figured out yet. What I was most looking forward to was running downhill. I have read several websites that claim by running downhill you teach your body how to run faster. You take longer strides and use your fast twitch muscles; two things very important for creating speed. Apparently you also build better quad muscles by going against gravity more than you would on a normal flat surface. Since running downhill is always the best part of any outdoor session, I was really excited to learn of its benefits. As I mentioned, I have a great hill just five minutes from my house. It is .25 miles long and pretty steep. My plan was to run down and walk back up (I had originally thought I could jog back up until I remembered how steep and difficult it was). I planned on doing this run-down/walk-up routine 4 times, giving me a two mile workout. However, It was harder than it looks. I ran downhill super-fast; 8-minute miles according to my IPod (which gets less and less accurate as I get faster). Then I walked up the hill. I turned around and did that combo three times. By the third one my legs were shaking. I was breathing hard and sweating a lot, but it was my legs that gave out first. This has never happened before; generally it is my lungs that collapse (or possibly my side-ache) way before my legs get tired. So I figure this is exactly what is supposed to happen. My leg muscles are being built up and my stride is being lengthened. One website claimed I would be able to run faster after just one hill workout. I doubt that but I am eager to try the hills again and see if I can make it four times.

Unfortunately my workout only lasted 30 minutes this morning. And then I was hot and sweaty and just went home. I could have walked along the trail for another 30, but when I am walking outside, I hardly get a good workout. So I called it a day and went home to watch more Olympics!

Will I Ever get to Run?

Ever since I decided I was going to train for this 5k run in Atlanta I have been eager to get out there and better my times. I read online that the best way to increase speend (besides just getting better at running in general, and losing weight) is to sprint down hill and then jog back up slowly. I love running downhill, it's almost like you're not even running. And I have one bitch-of-a-hill near my house. So I can't wait to try this. I had wanted to attempt it on Monday, but Combat was enough cardio for me for one day. Then I had wanted to do it after Pump on Tuesday, but Jennifer and I went out for dinner and then we were too full to try any high-speed running. Finally, I thought that I would get to try this morning; I didn't work until noon and it was beautiful weather. But I didn't. I wasted time around my house until it was too late to workout. Now tonight I will be at a Saltdogs game (for work) until at least 10pm. I know I am not going to come home and try it. I am really excited to see if I can run as much as I think. The hill is .25 of a mile long, so if I run down and jog back up 4 times I will have done two miles. I guess I will just have to wait and do it tomorrow morning.

Must Go More

I went to BodyPump tonight. I haven't been since last Tuesday and boy could I tell. I can't remember the last time I only made it to one class during the week. I had scheduled it several times this weekend, but something always came up. I went easier on some weights and it was still difficult. Lunges were downright impossible; I am still slightly sore from running this weekend. Chest was difficult and even the lower weights on biceps were hard to get through. It frustrates me that I can lose that much power in just one week, but it also shows me how great it is for my body to go two or even three times a week. I can't wait until September comes and my work schedule gets better. Then I will be able to hit three Pumps and week and hopefully two Combats.

I am not going to post my weigh in for this week. All was good on Saturday. I did not go to my high school reunion at the 9 pounds-to-go weight I had really hoped for. But I went at 10! Then Sunday it jumped. And I didn't even eat that poorly this weekend. Since then it has been pretty high. So hopefully if I just skip this week and weigh in next Monday morning everything will be back to normal.

Chip-Schmip

I was excited to see that our official race times were posted on the website yesterday. Then I was hugely disappointed when I found myself and my time was exactly what it said when I went through the finish line. Since I know we started at least 30 seconds later than everyone else, I know there is no way it took me 39:54 to run the race. So I am estimating my time at around 39:24 or even 39:00 if you consider the part where I had to stop and adjust my IPod. Apparently that chip only registers when you cross the finish line, not when you cross the starting line. I wonder if that is different for big races (like the Lincoln Marathon) where you could possibly start a full minute after the people in the front row. Oh well, I know I did well!

Now I am looking ahead to running more races. I want to go see my friend Amy sometime in October. She has a new house to show off, and I am ready for a vacation. During the time we will be there her neighborhood has a festival, and as part of that event there will be a 5k run. We are so going to do it! And we all want to better our times. Amy wants to attempt to run it at 11-minute miles and I want to do the whole thing in 37 minutes. I don't know if that means running without stopping at 12-minute-miles or if I should learn to run faster so I can still take my two walk breaks. There is something mentally calming about taking the walk breaks, and since so much of running is mental, that might be what I need. I am going to develop an eight week run-faster plan. Please keep harping on me so that I don't embarrass myself in front of those Atlantan-ers.

My long weekend is finally coming to an end. All my out of town visitors have left. I go back to work tomorrow. My reunion is over! In some ways the weekend seemed to take forever. Yet, in no way am I ready to return to work. Tonight I am headed to Combat! Tomorrow I had something planned, but it appears to be cancelled. So it looks like I can make it to BodyPump after all! Good thing too, because I hate when my routine is interrupted.

Yay, We did the 5k

Running Friends! After it was all over.

When I went to bed late last night I was dreading it. When I woke up this morning at 6am I was dreading it. When I heard that it was pouring rain I was dreading it. When I got on the weather channel website and saw that it was supposed to rain until 5:00 this evening I was sure that I wouldn't have to do it; I don't run in the rain. When Jennifer and I were there forty minutes early and our friends were no where to be seen I was thinking they were skipping out on me. But as I was running it, it was perfect. Jennifer and I had made a playlist last night. We knew we were supposed to run the first five songs (17 minutes) then we could walk for one song (4 minutes) run two more (7 minutes) walk a long one (5 minutes) run one last one and sprint until the finish. Everything went according to plan, well, unless you consider the fact that I was still tying on Amy's chip when the cannon went off, and we started at least 30 seconds behind everyone and my IPod was playing a book on CD and not my running playlist and I couldn't get it to change until I just stopped running and fixed it. Everything else went according to plan. I had absolutely NO pain. No bursting ovaries. No side-aches. After about 10 minutes of running I had to slow down to catch my breath because I realized I was running too fast. At about 3k, Jennifer pointed out a pile of vomit that seriously made me nauseous. The weather was perfectly cool and overcast with only a few sprinkles. The route was boring but nice and flat. I shaved about two minutes off my finishing time, from when I did it last October. We came in somewhere between 38 and 39 minutes. Official times will be posted tomorrow, and since we started 30 seconds late, we need those official times. It was fun. Did I just say that? I am really happy that Brandy talked us into doing it, and that Amy was willing to run on her vacation and that Jennifer was more than happy to run and walk when I needed too. Thanks guys!

What we were doing when the race started!


Jennifer and I waiting for the race to begin!

I Couldn't Run Today

I got off of work at 11 this morning. We are driving down to Kansas City this afternoon to watch the Royals take on the RedSox. But I had an extra hour so I hit the gym. I had devised a new plan to run/walk 3.1 miles, faster than I had done it on Sunday. I ran the first 1.5 miles, walked .25 and then started to run the next .5 but I just couldn't do it. I know that running is 75% mental, but my mentality just fell through. I hadn't eaten much today. I have been tired and not sleeping well the last few nights (lots of shake-ups at work to worry about). And I have worked out a lot the last few days. I haven't taken a day off since last Friday. So I let myself walk uphill for the rest of the 30 minutes and then I left.

Yesterday I made it to BodyPump and got an hour of cardio in before that. Boy let me tell you, it makes it a lot harder to do Pump after I have done an entire hour of cardio. And of course I did Comabt on Monday, which is always tough. So I think my Body was just saying it needed a break. Hopefully this is good enough!

Not Quite There

My weigh-in this morning was slightly disappointing. I was at 12.5, which is a pound down from last week. That isn't too shabby, just not the two pounds I was hoping for. I know any loss is a reason to celebrate. On Friday I was down to 11 pounds, which is the lowest I have EVER been, so I was really hoping to break some new records. I also felt like I really deprived myself yesterday and worked out hard. I am blaming the Coldstone Ice cream; it's probably added on a pound itself. Alas, I will be happy with my pound loss and hope that next week I will be down to 10. This is doubtful because my weekend will be full of eating and entertaining. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to be at 9 pounds on Thursday morning, just in time to see my high school friends again. Not that they'll be able to tell the difference between two or three pounds. It's more of a confidence booster.

I'm excited to get back to my real Combat class this evening. It will be nice to do a different routine. I could see myself getting pretty bored of the same #36 songs if I did them at home too often. It will be good to mix the at home version with the actual class every week. Then I am getting my car's air conditioning fixed, so that I can actually use my car without melting!

It's Official

We're going to run a 5k next Saturday. Since some of my high school friends will be back for our high school reunion, we thought we'd do something fun and out of the ordinary. So Jennifer, Brandy, Amy and I are going to run this race next Saturday at 8am. Amy is worried about the direct sunlight (that she doesn't have in Atlanta), Jennifer is worried about being left in the dust (because she never runs), and I am worried about the fact that I hate running and I am wondering why we are bothering to do this. But, it will be a great way to celebrate the start of our High school reunion day. And it will make us all look healthier when the actual event comes around later in the day.

I had a great workout day today. I woke up early enough to do Combat at home. I made it through about 45 minutes of the class, then I was so tired I skipped ahead to abs, thinking I would finish up after I caught my breath. I never did; finish that is, I did eventually catch my breath. Then after lunch Jennifer and I went to the gym so she could try to run 3.1 miles. She has never run that far in her life. But she is a fast learner, and she did just fine. We ran the first mile at 5.0 mph. Then we walked/ran the next two miles and then sprinted the last .1o mile at 6.5 mph. I didn't feel like I pushed myself a lot, but I did have both ovaries hurting at one point. I think I ate too much for lunch and then ran too soon afterwards. It took us 41 minutes that way, about a 13 minute mile. That's the speed I did last fall, and I really want to do better this time around. We might have to try to walk less, or run faster. Either way, I figure the crowd will push us. I think we will want to give it one more trial run on Wednesday or Thursday.

I only got six hours of workout time in this week. The weather has been so hot, and I have been pretty busy. I did earn 3 more points in my CWE, taking me up to 20. I only have to get 10 more before the end of August. I should be able to handle that! I have a great week coming up. I work a half-day on Wednesday and then I have a 4-day weekend. This should allow me to get plenty of working out done. Also, my out of town friends are coming back for our reunion, so we should be having some fun times. Hopefully the working out can make up for the fun-ness!

Cool at the Pool

I started my day off at BodyPump. It was really hard to get up this morning, because I couldn't get to sleep last night until after 2am. But I love Saturday morning Pump, and I am glad that I went. This was the first time in a long time (months?) that Jennifer, Brandy, Erin and I were all there. Ryan had us add smalls on the end of our bar during the Chest track. This was a great opportunity for me to try the large weight, without the commitment of using it the entire time. The idea was that at the break you could let the small weights fall off, because they were on the outside of the bracket. It felt pretty good, but one of mine fell off about half-way to the break. And since, I didn't want to be lop-sided, I dropped the other one as well. We did a lunge track with the step which was great and grueling as always and I attempted the medium and small for biceps. Nearly impossible.

Then we spent the afternoon at the City Pool. I haven't been to a public pool since I was about thirteen years old. I was expecting the worst, but it actually wasn't too bad. I thought that it would be packed, but there was plenty of room. We spent almost 5 hours there and the pinkness of my shoulders proves it. I just hope it turns into a tan and not some pealing mess. It only cost $4.50; it was well worth it

Tomorrow Jennifer and I are going to hit the gym in the the afternoon to do some running. She wants to see if she's capable of running a 5k and I would like to try it again. This time I might let myself run faster and then let myself walk parts of it. We'll see what I can do to keep it interesting. I am also planning on getting up and doing Combat in my living room before I go to lunch with my mom. What a great way to start the day!

So Manny Memories

It's a very sad day for me. All the excitement I had stored up from doing at-home Combat last night faded when I got to work and checked in the paper. Manny Ramirez has been traded to the Dodgers. He will no longer be a RedSock, he will no longer play at Fenway park, he will no longer complete the gruesome-twosome. Manny Ramirez symbolized everything baseball is to me. Manny had his faults, but who doesn't. As much as I love Fattie Ortiz, Manny's attitude is everything I hope to be one day. My heart is broken. I don't think the RedSox will ever be the same.

Speaking of baseball, I went to a Saltdogs game with my dad tonight. It was my father's day gift to him. He had never been to a game; he rarely comes to Lincoln. I was worried that eating stadium food would ruin my already shameful week. Turns out, a hot dog and popcorn isn't too bad for me. Mixed with a healthy Subway lunch, I stayed right at my 1200 calories for the day. I even skipped the cookie Jennifer tried to seduce me with! Lately my morning weigh-in has been looking good and therefore motivating. I won't say what it is, because it always goes up on the weekend, but I'm gonna try real hard to keep it there.