I’ve just spent the last 90 minutes going through my cd’s to get some new music on my ipod shuffle. Here’s what I’ve got…
I can’t wait to put this music to work in about 30 minutes!
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Dear Body; I would just like to take this opportunity to give you a heart filled thank you for all the hard work you have done for me these past 4 months. I’ll admit when I first asked you to embark on this journey, I didn’t think you had it in you. I’ll be the first to admit, you have more determination than I could have imagined.
So today Body, I present to you the OWiS #16…you should be proud, cause me and Optimus Prime are more proud of you today than you can imagine!
The numbers Week 0 = 263.5 (-0.0)
Week 1 = 257.4 (-6.1)
You’ve really shown me what your made of Body. Now get out there and show me what you’ve got!
I’m going to try and make it a habit to post a week in review the night before my OWiS. I think it’s important to remember this journey is no longer about numbers (though them moving in the right direction is always an added bonus).
With that in mind, tomorrow is OWiS #16. I have had an incredible week of ups and downs, frustrations and successes, laughs and tears…oh man the tears this week! I hit a brick wall and then tore it down. I picked up two new mantras and I put some more steel in my steel toed shoes for my ass kickin, name taking journey. Here are the highlights: Sunday – I ran my first ever 3.1 miles (with some walking intervals). It was difficult and afterwards I cried like a baby. Then I swam for a mile as a reward. Monday – I met with Superman. I hit the proverbial brick wall. I also discovered that I’m about to climb the biggest mountain of my life. I cried like a baby and felt sorry for myself. Tuesday – I swam for a mile, thanked Superman for the session (and opening up my eyes) and picked up two new mantra’s. Feel free to use them. Wednesday – I ran on the treadmill at a new speed of 4.3. I didn’t grab the bar once. I ran strong, I looked strong and I felt strong. I also discovered some new muscles….ouch! Thursday – An hour with Superman and a new found hate love for inclined sit-ups and a green weighted ball. I didn’t really blog about it too much because I was focused on Ed and his 92 minute work out challenge. Friday (Today) – I hit that elliptical hard this morning (keep reading). 92 minutes!! And because I love myself, I swam for 45 minutes afterwards. Now whether the scale will move for me tomorrow or not, doesn’t seem like such a big deal… _____________________________________________________________ Today was my day to match Ed and his 92 minute work out pledge. It was hard as hell and I have a new-found respect for people who get on that thing day in and day out for hours and hours. I’m not as Rico Suave as he was with all his fancy picture-taking (actually his wife did all the work, he just got on the elliptical). I did however manage to take a few pictures as proof of all my perseverance: Just Starting out (Min 1).
Minute 30 and all kinds of sweaty already.
Minute 60 and I am pooped. Seriously pooped.
92 minutes later…
I recruited some of my friends to join me. Sheetal, Jessica, Amy, Kelso, Jan, Dawn and Deb from Calorie King all did 92 minutes of sweating. Josie, Jord, Vinny, Amber, Seth and even Ed (who started this whole thing) pledged to move for 92 minutes… Let’s calculate this: 15 x 92 = 1380 minutes = 23 hours worth of sweat! Almost an entire day!!! Fantastic!! Time to close this post and let the numbers speak tomorrow. Regardless of what happens I kicked ass this week and to treat myself, I’m getting a massage and a hair cut tomorrow! Oh and let me leave you with one more picture comparison, in case you’re wondering if what you’re doing is worth it: This was me at the end of December 2009
This is me today April 16th 2010
And this my friends is why I move, sweat, cry, scream, laugh, and ask myself WWOPD!
Today is the day I’m fulfilling my promise to match Ed over at Monday315 and his 92 minute workout pledge that he did on Wednesday. At approximately 630 this morning I will jump on the elliptical and for 92 minutes think about how he inspired me to move in the right direction. A few of you have also joined in on this lovely pledge: Josie (who will be doing hers Saturday) Ed (who is re-pledging his own pledge!!) I also have 8 people over at CalorieKing who are joining me on this challenge! Anyone else in? 92 minutes of breaking a sweat! 92 minutes of moving in the right direction! 92 minutes of taking your life back! Please leave a comment here about how it went (and if you can figure out the calories that would be awesome)! I will post a follow-up later tonight! Sometimes I wake up and wonder if I’ll find something to write about. Something that will either give me an “Ah-ha” moment or at least help me to reflect on this LCJ. I wonder if the day will just go by and nothing will strike me as important enough to ponder… And then I stumble upon it. You can see people at my office making better choices. Drinking water, instead of pop. Reaching for fruit, instead of the chocolate drawer. Taking stairs instead of the elevator. Making plans for walking a half marathon (which I will be participating in with them) and starting their own ventures with c25k. People are bringing in more conscious type foods and today someone brought sweetened banana chips. I love banana chips but I don’t love them right now. I’m pretty used to just sticking to what I have in my cubicle drawer and what I pack for my daily snacks to get me through the day. I don’t languish over the fact that I’m not eating chocolate or that I can’t ever have sugary treats ever again. I can. In fact if I wanted to today I could. I don’t want them. I was asked if I could eat the banana chips? To which I said yes I could, but I probably won’t. The reply to that was “Oh you’re being that good”. I know it wasn’t meant as anything but a simple reply but in hindsight it got me really thinking… What exactly does that mean “Oh you’re being that good?” Am I supposed to be doing bad things or are there levels of “goodness” to my new eating less / moving more habits? If I sustain from eating anything sweet or slightly “bad” do I go up a level? Am I trying to obtain a level 80 on this game? Where the hell is my Gnome Mage? Over the past 4 months I’ve taken some serious soul searching paths to find out who I am and what I’m capable of doing. While on these paths, I find myself not wanting to eat anything that might cause me to feel upset, ashamed, defeated or frustrated. I want to eat cleaner, healthier and more consciously. Of course I can eat whatever I want and what I want right now doesn’t include anything but the foods that make me feel good about the choices and decisions that I’m making. Everything I do right now has a consequence. Either positive or negative. Every time I put food in my mouth, I’ am taking control of the consequences. Every time I go to the gym, I am taking control of the consequences. Every time I run, I am taking control of the consequences. Yes, it’s challenging. Yes, it’s difficult. Yes I cry a lot on this LCJ. I feel frustrations and disappointments. But for me there is no other alternative. I can either live a life of being fat and unresponsive to the world around me or I can start moving and live the life that was put before me. So today I won’t eat banana chips. Not because I’m being “That good”. But because I am taking control. Are you taking control of your life? If the answer is no What can I do to help?
I have a friend Ed who blogs over at Monday315 and yesterday he did a workout challenge of 92 minutes on the elliptical. I was so proud of him, that I told him I would match it on Friday (tomorrow). Now I’m asking all my friends to join me. You don’t have to get on the elliptical. I just want you to move for 92 minutes. Run, Walk, Swim, Bike, run around with your kids, I don’t care but I want you to love yourself enough to move. Tomorrow at 6:30a I’m stepping on the elliptical and not getting off until 8:02a because my friend Ed, loves himself enough to move in the right direction. Do you love yourself enough to do the same? Come out and play with me! Today’s anatomy lesson is sponsored by the Letter “O” for Ouch!
I think I may have pushed myself too hard during the swimming session yesterday. Add to that the Monday session with Superman and what we have here folks is the inability to get my messenger bag over my head, turn my steering wheel without wincing just a bit and finding it difficult to get my 1 liter water bottle up to my lips. I am uncomfortable. But I kicked ass yesterday during my swim (70 laps) and this morning during my run. I went back to the treadmill again to work on speed and consistency. I kept the pace at 4.3 (except during walking which was 3.5mph). I was sore in the beginning but after the first interval that all subsided and I just got down to running. It was awesome. I ran strong. I looked strong. I felt strong. In the end I ran for a total of 40 minutes (with 3 one minute walking intervals) for 2.7 miles. I was exhausted but not feeling like I was going to throw up like before. I could have kept going but I really want to follow the podrunner schedule. I know I can do a 3.1 as proven last Sunday. I’m in no hurry to run like banshee so I’ll just get back to kickin ass in the old slow and steady fashion. But enough of that, back to my complaining: I am sore. Tomorrow is my date with Superman so I’m hoping that I am seeing the worst of this today. I may have to give him some puppy dog eyes to go easy on me. Or I might just go up to him and say “What Would Optimus Prime Do Superman? You know what he’d do? He’d get back up from a serious beat down and throw the last punch, that’s what he would do…GAME ON!“ _________________________________________________________________ I know I said Tony’s 60 minute challenge was going to be my first physical challenge but it seems I may have spoken too soon. My friend Ed over at Monday315 is doing his own challenge. You know the kind where you leave a comment and it’s one minute, become a fan and it’s another minute… Well I was so tickled pink that he took this step, that I promised to match his minutes. He’s just now starting his workout (as I write this). Since I have Superman tomorrow, I won’t be able to match him until Friday, which if I am correct it’s something like 90ish minutes on the elliptical. It could be more but I won’t know the official number until later. Anyone else want in on this? A little impromptu challenge? You and me in celebration of Ed?
*Disclaimer – I am extremely emotional today. It’s a combination of TOM and my morning session with Superman. That being said, what I write at the moment is just how I’m feeling. If I could crawl back into bed and cry myself a river of waaaa waaaa waaaa’s I would. I can’t so I’m gonna write about here and see if I can get my shit together… 3.1 I started running at the end of January. I couldn’t run a block without wondering where the nearest hospital was so they could put my lung back or whether or not someone would get mad if I threw up on their manicured lawn. Each time I ran I wondered if it would get easier or if I could go farther. I spent countless hours wondering how I was going to go 3 minutes without stopping. Then it was 5 minutes… Then 8 minutes… 20 minutes… Until finally 10 weeks later I hit the 30 minute mark. I had graduated the c25k program but I still hadn’t reached the 3.1 mile mark. I started with another running program that takes you from 5k to 8k not because I want to run a 8k (which I do) but because I wanted the longer music intervals to help me build up to 3.1 miles. Last week I got all the way up to 2.81 miles. I thought I was going to throw up (and I almost did). I could feel that 3.1 mile mark just out of my reach. I needed to get there just so I can stop thinking about it. My first 5k isn’t slated until June 12th but I need to get past that distance now so it wouldn’t weigh so heavily on the back of my mind. Sunday I woke up with a goal and that goal was reach 3.1 miles and run for most of it. I’m alright with running a certain amount of minutes and walking for one. This will probably be my usual practice once I find a comfortable pace and for now the podrunner program has me running for 8 minutes and walking for one. I start… It felt good to be outside running. It was early enough on a Sunday morning that my little city hadn’t even started to stir yet. I think I’m running faster this week than I was last week. I know I’m zoning off a lot more than I was before. There was nothing to think about until I came to the cool down portion of podrunner. The whole podcast lasts about 46 minutes and minus the warm up I had 41 minutes to run a 5k. I knew it wasn’t going to happen so I would have to really push myself to run during the cool down and if necessary keep going after the podcast was finished. Cool down came and went and I was still running. I was so close. I wanted to stop. I wanted to tell myself that maybe next week would be better. I could see the end ahead of me. Less than half a mile. It wasn’t as close as I wanted it to be but at least I could see it. I’m frustrated. I walk for 30 seconds just to get my thoughts together and reconfirm why I’m doing this. I’m changing my life. I’m trying to be a healthier person. I don’t want to be fat any more. I don’t want to be 100 pounds over weight. I don’t want to sit in front of the computer for hours thinking about what could have been…I want to find out for myself. I push through that last couple of blocks and before I know it I’m running past the point where I started 50 minutes earlier and know to be 3.1 miles. I run an extra block and then like usual break down and cry. I had just run my first 5k. I don’t need to obsess about whether or not I’ll ever be able to run 3.1 miles before June 12th. I did. I can. I will. June 12th is a long time from now. There is plenty of time for improvement. 50 minutes is a long time (with 4 one minute walking intervals) to do a 5k. It’s a vast improvement over what I was doing 3 months ago (NOTHING!) and if I can do this now… Superman Today was date #2 with Superman. He took me through the weight machines this morning and all I can say is I’m going to be sore tomorrow. There are few times in my life when I encounter something that I can’t take head on and be victorious. Even in my weight loss journey thus far I’ve been very successful and in that gotten sort of cocky about what I have done in the past 3 months. Today he brought me down a notch and didn’t even realize it. I got there early to warm up before our appointment. Do you remember the star pupil in your classroom? The one who always had the best looking papers or who always went the extra mile just to please the teacher? Yhea that’s me…so warm up is done before we get started just so I can have the extra 5 minutes of training. I know how to get on the elliptical for 5 minutes by myself. I don’t know how to lose 100 pounds alone and that’s what I need him for. He starts me off with leg presses. 45 pounds on each side…10 reps. Break. Add another 45 pound weight just to one side, repeat 10 reps. Break. Add additional 45 pound weight to other side, 10 reps. I am already on the verge tears. In the face of fear or something emotional I tend to use humor as a cover. So you can pretty much assume this session was a barrel of monkeys the way I was joking with him. At one point he gives me a weight bar for bicep curls and I ask him how much they weigh: Superman: “20 pounds“ Me: “Okay next time tell me they weight 300 pounds so I can feel like a super hero” He grabs the 30 pound weight bar: Superman: “That 20 pound bar was too light, here take this 300 pound bar and show me what you got” – you can see why I like this guy right? Throughout the hour I am afraid I won’t be able to do what he asks me to do. I keep getting to the breaking point and I don’t hear him say “one more”. He must know what he’s doing because every time I feel like I’m going to drop whatever I’m holding he then gives me the “one more” and of course I can’t resist pushing back. There were numerous times I was grateful that when he said “take a break” he walked away from me. I needed that time to cover my face with my sweaty baseball cap and contemplate what the hell I was thinking. And cry. It hurt like hell today. The last thing we did was this weird contraption:
It was this that put me over the edge. I could do the sit ups, leg presses, calf presses, bicep curls, behind the head thingamajiggies…It hurt like hell. I wanted to throw up but I went until I heard him say “one more” and that’s just what I gave him. This I couldn’t do. I did the first three knee lifts and just about lost it. I had to beg myself to take my feet off the foot rest when he said “again”. I did two more and had to put my feet up on the rest again. I know Superman knew I was trying my best. It was me I was fighting. He wasn’t disappointed. I was. He knows what lies ahead for me. I don’t. I just wanted the session to end because I hurt, I was embarrassed for being fat and I felt like all the hard work I’ve put into myself the last three months had just come to a screeching halt. I had just hit a brick wall and I was not prepared. He did say “one more” and I gave it to him. I even high fived him after we were done and said “Thank you Sir, see you on Thursday”. I went to the locker room and cried. Mostly out of frustration. I have come a long way. I’m doing things now that I haven’t done since high school. I’m doing things that I couldn’t even do in high school. Today’s lesson was that while I’ve come a long way, the road ahead is still very long. It’s almost like that feeling of cresting a hill and thinking you’re at the top only to discover the mountain range in front of you. You’re too afraid to move forward but can’t go back down the hill because there is absolutely nothing there. That is where I am today and that’s why I’m writing about emotional gunk.. I seriously thought I had started ascending the mountain 3 months ago. I had just crested a hill. I’m not contemplating quitting or running out to my favorite Chinese restaurant and consuming a 3000 calorie meal. I’m not thinking about skipping a workout or only doing a half-assed job of it tomorrow. I’m going to swim tomorrow and swim like a damn dolphin. I’m not thinking “what’s the point” of all this. I know the point. I have a life to live and it does not include anything but moving in the right direction. Superman humbled me today. I am thankful.
This is the weekend for running it seems! My friend Jess over at “Half of Jess” is running her first 5k today!!! My friend Josie over at “35 and Shrinking” is running a 10k!!! As for me, I’ll be running today… Not in a 5k or a 10k. Just running. Outside, enjoying the enviroment. I will get to 3.1 miles today. That I promise. Then I will swim for 45 minutes and enjoy the fact that for the first time in my life I’ve run farther that I could ever have imagined and instead of celebrating with food, I will celebrate with a swim and a soak in the hot tub. Amazing things happen when you decide to live… |
These are my newest discovery. The Pectoralis Major. The reason they are my newest discovery? Because they are so sore I can’t barely stand it.