Step to it!

Hello dear friends!

Guess what!  I've lost 5 lbs since 1/7!  Hooray!

Guess what else - I've found a new blog site that I love!  It's called Tone It Up and it's my new favorite thing.  I tried to create my own workout calendar, but I think I was a bit unrealistic.  I was also very very uncreative.  Same thing over and over - no wonder it wasn't working!  TIU  sent me my weekly calendar an it's varied and it's wonderful.  They also told me to look back over my journey and write about it.  About my failure an my successes and to see just how far I've really come.  I think this "entire me" approach is going to be very beneficial...  Their abs workout for today was really difficult - I have issues with plank and downward dog and such for long periods of times not only because of my pansy-ass abs, but my wrists start really hurting as well :(  I tried to modify it, but I wound up just adding my own thing that worked better with my body.  As I get stronger, I hope to be able to do it their way for longer and longer until I don't have to do substitutions!

I did Step as well tonight and let me tell you - I feel super uncoordinated!  I did it and I put a lot of effort into it, but it was not a pretty sight I can tell you that.  But I was there and I sweated it out and that ladies and gentlemen, is what it's all about ;)

Tune in tomorrow for Tales from BodyCombat!

Wooohooohoohooo!

Well kids, today has been one of ups and downs.  Down - I was starving and all the veggies and crap in my lunch box looked completely insufficient, so I had Dairy Queen :(  Wah-wah-wahhhhh.  Ups - BodyCombat was AWESOME!!!  I was fighting my back the whole time, but I felt so energized and completely and utterly jazzed at the end!  When we were doing abs at the end, I had my hands under my head and I was sweating so much it felt like I just got out of the shower.  Gross in the coolest way ever!!  It's been so long since I'm felt just so empowered and completely in control of my own destiny.  Plus, I got home and still did my abs and squats that are part of my 30 day challenge.  Got to the point where I almost threw up, but I didn't - so we're still on Cloud9 :)  I'm exhausted, but still so happy and mentally firing on all cylinders.  It's days like today that remind me why I love working out.

Tomorrow is running - let's do it!!!

Catching Up...

So, it's been a while.

I would love to say that I made good on everything I was talking about before I dropped off the face of the map - but that would be a lie.  Have you ever noticed when people disappear, they're usually about 10lbs heavier when they finally pull their face out of the box of cookie and decide to rejoin the human race?  Enter present day.

While I'm certainly a lot heavier, the past months haven't been a total loss.  I did the Christmas Carol Classic again and beat last year's time by 17 minutes!  Woot new PR!  The best part - my back didn't hurt and the entire time it actually felt pretty good.  Not gonna lie - running by the finish line and knowing I had an entire additional lap around the course to finish the 10k was not easy.  It would've been so much easier to just finish the 5k and call life good, but I pushed through and finished the entire 10k.  Hooray self!

I have a new job which I love and that's making a huge difference in my happiness levels.  I also don't have to work 2 jobs anymore, so that's another plus :)  We've just started the Biggest Loser at work and so now I have money on the line.  It's a $50 buy in and then it's $1 a pound for every pound you've gained at weekly weigh in.  So, is $150+ going to be enough of an incentive to get less jiggly?  I hope so!  If that's not enough, I've got the Cupid Undie Run coming up in February, plus a trip to Strawberry Park Hot Springs where clothing is optional after dark - talk about incentive!  I don't think I'll have the guts to go au natural, but I'd like to feel confident in myself if I did.

I've created a fairly ambitious workout calendar for myself which includes a 30 day ab/squat challenge.  Yes, I've already messed up, but I'm doing at least part of every day, meaning I'm doing abs every day, so hopefully I'll see some changes in the not too distant future!

So, here we go again - starting back on the path to fitness and sexy hotness.  Stay tuned!

Deja Vu

So, I'm back on the bandwagon again everyone!  I know, deja vu, am I right?  After Tough Mudder I took a break for a few days because, well, hell, I deserved.  But a few days turned in to a few weeks and an additional 7lbs because I was eating like I was still working out every day.  Bad news bears.  So, I'm back.... again.

I backed up a bit in my running program to week 4, day 1 just to get myself slowly back in to things again and it felt fabulous!  After about a half an hour of the program, topped off with a speed 7.5 run segment tacked on at the end for good measure, I decided I wasn't done.  So I bumped my incline up to 15 and kept on going for another half a mile at a huge incline.  I had TacoBell for lunch today, so I decided I still wasn't done and went for 20 minutes/6.25 miles on the bike.  I was going to follow up with abs, but there was a very strong skinny girl in the groupx room where I do my core and resistance training and I really didn't feel like struggling next to her.  I know that everyone had to start somewhere and I shouldn't compare myself to her, but I did, and I will and I can't help it.  I'm a girl and I judge myself against those around me, along with 90% of the women out there.

I know I still didn't earn the calorie deficit required for weight loss today, but it felt really good to get back on the treadmill.  To top it all off, I didn't even have any back pain!  It's good to be back... again ;)

PS - Carey and I might have found a house!  We sent in our rental app today.  Icing on the cake - it's less than a mile from Liz :)  Hooray!

Tough Mudder!

Well my friends, I did it.  I have completed the Tough Mudder and have a sweat band, t-shirt, and enough cuts and bruises to prove that I did it with, not necessarily flair and definitely not grace, but certainly determination.  I completed the course in just over 4 hours - knocking my 6 hour goal out of the park!  I didn't complete all the obstacles because, after the Arctic Enema (jump in a trough of ice, swim halfway, have to go under a 1 foot deep board and then swim some more before you can get out the other side that has even more ice cubes in it) and another water obstacle right after it, I didn't think my body could handle the shock of another fall in ice cold water.  I also couldn't find my ear plug, so my ear was starting to hurt from all the weird shit that I was allowing to get in there.  So, that goal wasn't completed, but I'm still pretty darn proud of myself.  I know that I couldn't have done it without Andrew and Carey helping me over the climbing obstacles (and two random guys who pulled me up at the top of the half pipe).  I know I could have done better if I trained sufficiently, but I did it gosh darn it!

If I ever do this again, I'm definitely training better.  Even if I still have my back problems, I will continue to strength train, in spite of not being able to do cardio/running.  BTW - I didn't have any upper back problems!  My knees are totally f'd though.  They had us climb up the run, run all the way down it, only to climb directly back up it and then run down it again.  As much as the climb hurt, running down hill was pure hell on my knees.  I think every possible muscle in my body is screaming in pain every time I move - muscles I didn't even realize I had hurt!  Which of course makes sleeping difficult because I can't sleep in my normal side/tummy positions because of my knees and then every time I try to turn over, i wake up because my muscles are so upset about moving.

Don't let all this fool you - it was an awesome time!  The electric shocks hurt for sure and I lost my shoe in the mud on the last obstacle when I got a shock and was flipped sideways so I was limping in to the finish line but oh man - what a rush!  I kept myself from crying - I think the shoe loss was odd enough to throw me off of any tears.  I have never earned a beer more in my life.  I almost threw it up, but damn was it good going down :)

So, all in all, I did it.  I have mental grit.  I have stamina.  I am a Tough Mudder.

PS - someone else who ate it in the mud pit happened to land on my shoe and brought it back out with him.  Kathryn and Dad went to retrieve it while Carey and I enjoyed our beers.

New Kicking butt style

Hello all!

I've decided to change my work schedule to 7 - 4 so that way I can take a full hour for lunch.  What am I doing with so much time do you ask?  Why running of course!  Yesterday was my first day and it felt wonderful.  That break during the work day was so needed and I came back totally rejuvenated and in a much better mood than when I first started my run!  It was also nice because when I went to the gym last night, I only had to do weights/the TM work out.  It was the first time I've really tried to do it all the way through and oh my goodness - it's so hard!  It's just really stressing to my how much trouble I'm in...  I mean, I know circuit training is hard when you first start it, even if you're in great shape, but oh man!  Hopefully, doing this 3 - 4 times a week will really help boost me to the point where I'm not completely f'd - just mostly ;).

My body is hurting today though!  Including, oddly enough, the top of my left foot.  My plan was to do another day in the program, but I may either repeat yesterday or just do a 15 minute tabatta to try not to push myself too hard.  I know I need to push, but I can not afford to get injured at this stage of the game!  Body pump is tonight, so that's exciting!  I'm so tired every night now, but a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do.  Let's just see how long I can keep this up!  Most awkward part - I'm showering about 3 times a day now!  I'm going to go through a lot of soap...

Jubilation

I had an awesome run today!  Last night, C and I went out and spent about an hour finding me new running shoes, and when I went to test them out today, it was amazing.  I had no pain - other than the standard muscles hating me kind of stuff.  I thought I might be getting a twinge in my back so I slowed down my pace and focused on my form and it never manifested.  I even fit in 2 sprinting segments!  Nothing big, just sprinting a block, walking across the street, then sprinting the next block.  I am so excited by this morning's run though!  Hooray for my awesome new kicks :)