April

First, let’s catch up…

Holy crap, I cannot believe how time has flown by.  In my last post, I mentioned I was running in a 5K.  My original 5K time in November was 36:20 (0r :30), and I walked the hills.  THIS time, I ran it in 34:19 and ran every freaking second including the hills.  Christmas crept up and and smacked me right in the face.  I almost wasn’t ready for it.  But now that it’s over, and I have some breathing room, I can finally get back to business.

Today’s business…

First, let me just say how much I LOVE Christie’s post today!  Girl, you’re my hero!!  Next, since I didn’t confess yesterday, I’ll confess today.  I was pretty bad over the holidays.  See, I’ve been struggling just a bit.  I’ve always said that I don’t deny myself anything, and I don’t.  I have enough discipline to not go too crazy, but here’s the thing, usually when I slack, I work out enough that I don’t gain.

I know what you’re saying…that’s great, right?  Well yeah, but I’ve worked out once in three weeks.  ONCE.  Now, I could give you the “I was super busy” excuse, which was true, I was super busy, but the truth is, if I had really wanted to, I would have found the time to work out.  But the truth is, and I’m accountable enough to admit that I didn’t want to.  I could say that after two years of being completely dedicated to working out, my body needed a break and maybe it did, but the truth of the matter is, I just didn’t want to.

My head wasn’t in the game.

And now my body is missing working out.  When my body misses it, my mind misses it and when my mind misses it, it’s time to get my head back into the game.

So, I didn’t maintain.  Not one bit.  I’m I happy about it?  Of course not, but I’m not going to whine or complain or be mad at myself.  I’m going to pick myself up and get back to it.  I’m “Rethinking my Shrink”.  Are you with me?

Starting weight: 150 (I know, I know!)

Goal for challenge: 5 lbs.

Today’s weigh-in day, and on the weigh-in side of things, I have nothing new to report.  I’m holding steady at 147, which is not great, but not bad either.

Today, I’m going to focus on my miles.  As of today, I got in 11 miles in this week, which for me is HUGE.  If you will recall, I Hate to Run.  But I am running.

It’s been cold and rainy and windy and I don’t get off from work until dusk, so I haven’t been running outside.

My company provides us with a tiny little gym. I used to go all the time.  Then, January of 2008 happened.  Does everyone know what happens every January?  EVERYONE makes a resolution to lose weight.  Don’t get me wrong, I think that’s great (I just wish people would STICK WITH IT), but being the creature who needs her schedule just so every day, having to wait for 45 mins for a machine just made me angry.  So, I turned to work out DVDs, and that got the job done.

But now, because someone thought it would be a good idea to force me challenge me to start running, I’m back in the gym.  And I’m on the stupid wonderful treadmill.  Okay, no.  I can’t lie there.  I hate the treadmill, that first mile freaking sucks my ass. (And don’t you pretend like that first mile doesn’t, cause it does.  So there.)  The second mile is okay.  By that time my brain has given up hope that I’m going to stop so that when I reach the third mile, I just go.  But once I hit that mile 3 mark, my brain flat out refuses to do more.  (I have news for my brain, we’re running four miles next week.  Don’t tell it, mkay?  Let’s surprise it.)

So, anyway…at work, we have a new fitness manager.  The last fitness manager we had, I was SO not impressed.  She made me so annoyed that I couldn’t even look at her.  And I admit, when my cubemate said, “Hey, April! Did you hear we had a new fitness manager,” I was a little leary at first, but guys, I love this chick!

She and I were chatting today and I told her about my 5K time yesterday. (Hey, did you hear? I beat my last time by 15 seconds!)  And she asked me if I was running the 5K race Roanoke is having on Saturday.  I had thought about it, but Saturday is SO busy for me that I just wasn’t sure that I could work it in.  Then she says:

“It starts at 9, you’d be back in your car by 10.  And I’ll run it with you!”

Does that not sound like something I would say?!  Seriously.  How can I not love it?

So, on Saturday, I’m going to be running the Jingle Bell Run to benefit the Arthritis Foundation.  Anyone else want to join me?!  Do I have to dare you?

Okay, folks…more than three times now, I’ve witnessed something at the gym that makes me absolutely furious.  Well, maybe not furious, but I do find myself struggling not to say something.

Hold on…let me back up.

Last week, I stepped foot into our gym at work for this first time in way over a year.  If you know me at all, you know that I got to a point when I got really fed up with waiting for machines at our tiny little gym, so I quit going and started working out on my own at home.

But now, you folks are dragging me kicking and screaming have talked me into joining you on the VTNT team and running a half marathon. (Ya’ll know me and running are not friends, right?)  By the time I get off of work, it’s dusk, and now it’s getting cold, and I don’t have the right work out to run in the cold, so for now, I’m hitting the gym to get some runs in.

So, onto my rant.  There’s this guy at the gym.  (Do NOT get any ideas.  He’s a jerk.  And that’s putting it nicely.)  But, he is at the gym most days “working out”.  Now I put those two words into quotations because here is what he does:

Usually, when I walk into the gym, he’s on the ball doing crunches while facing the mirror. (You know, so he can make sure he looks good while doing said crunches.)  Then he moves to the weight machines.  He does a set, sits for 5 minutes, checks his phone, wipes his forehead, takes a drink of water, looks up at the TV, does another set, then repeats his “rest time”.  The thing is, not once has he broken a sweat.  And, if I’m being completely honest, he could stand to lose some weight.  But he doesn’t lose weight because what he’s doing isn’t working out!  And I’ll bet you money that he’s wondered why he doesn’t lose weight.

People like this kind of make me angry, and I see this all the time whenever I go to the gym.  It’s like people treat it as social hour.  This is just something I don’t understand.  If I want to socialize, I’ll go out with friends for dinner and drinks or something.  I certainly don’t go to the gym to socialize.  I go to get my work out done because it’s really the last place I want to be “hanging out”.  When I go to the gym, I get on the machine and I go all out.  THE.WHOLE.TIME.  By the time I’m done I haven’t stopped the entire time, and I’m soaked with sweat.

I realize that some people just don’t get it or they think they get it, but they really don’t.  But I would seriously LOVE to just say, “hey, how about you actually WORK OUT for once…just for kicks?”  Ya know?

Okay, I’m done.  You may carry on.

I didn’t post last week because last week was crazy, and Wednesday I was running with my mom trying to get things ready to go to my grandparents for Thanksgiving.  But I will tell you this.  I was up.  Quite a bit.  Here’s why:

I didn’t work out and I ate like crap.  The End.

This week, I’m happy to say that I’m back down to where I was two weeks ago. 147 lbs. Which is really still up overall, but I’m working on it.

That’s right, folks, I lost during the Thanksgiving week!  And that was with that evil Aunt Flo looming.  Here’s why:

I got plenty of exercise and while I had a few treats, I ate healthy.

Also, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday I ran a total of 6 miles, which I know isn’t great, but it’s a start.  I shaved 20-30 seconds off my 5K time from when I visited Christy in Texas, so I was super excited about that!  And for now, I’m planning on running on the weekends outside, then Monday and Tuesday in the gym after work.

So, I guess that’s it until next week!