I Ran Today

Saturday was the final day of the 60 day challenge. I can't say that I finished in top form but I finished. I have never been so glad to be done with a required set of workouts. The final month was draining and just felt impossible. BUT, I did it and I did every day.
If I may, I'll share what I learned.
1. It is possible to fit it in. It really is. It requires planning, patience and the support of your spouse. It means that sometimes your kid is eating velveeta shells and cheese dinner and that you absentmindedly melt his bday cupcakes because you start the oven while you're working out and you melt the cupcakes you frosted for his baseball team. It means that your house is messy, the laundry gets backlogged, and the floors really need to be cleaned. But in the end, you can fit it in. This is the busiest time of the year for me and because I made this a priority, I was able to do it.
2. Support from people is immeasurable. I made it because both students and adults were asking me about it. They thought it was fun to hear about and I enjoyed talking about it. I enjoyed hearing about their journey and being both inspired and inspiring. Most people are busy and need extra pushes to get in shape and do what's good for our body. Helping each other out is key-we should always do this.
3. Making your goal public is a great motivator. Do it...if you fail, then you fail-people will get it. But often times, the public nature of the goal kept me going when nothing else would have.
4. Weight is tricky. I lost very few pounds. Maybe 5-6 total which was a huge disappointment to me. The scale didn't move far. I did lose inches. I lost an inch and a half around my waist and some inches off other parts of the body. While that's great and I do think I look better...there wasn't the dramatic before and after that I was hoping for. I don't fault the workout...I fault my desire to eat and drink whatever I want. I didn't eat terribly but definitely not like someone on a diet. It's so true that they really do go hand in hand. You have to be willing to do both to lose weight and I didn't quite pull that together. Because of the scale, I felt a bit disheartened at the end. It didn't help my motivation and I was frustrated. I need to let go of the scale, it's just so hard. Intellectually, I know where I should focus but if the scale doesn't go down, I feel like a failure.
5. I'm a runner. Before I trained for the marathon...I'm not sure if I could have said this and felt like I truly meant it...but it's true. I love running. I missed the space that it clears in my head. I missed being outside amidst other runners.
6. I need variety. If I saw that gentleman tell me to "focus" one more time in the workout...I was going to snap. I want to run, bike, go for hikes, walk AND do the Insanity workouts. I look forward to doing one on Wednesday with my friend, not because I have to but because I know that they're good strength resistance and they're a great workout.
7. An hour a day to workout isn't the best for my schedule. It's also hard mentally for me. 45 minutes always felt doable and I enjoyed it. When it got to the hour range, I dreaded it and felt overwhelmed. I don't know why that extra 15 minutes mattered, but it really did.
8. Push-ups are still hard. They really are.
9. Having a set schedule is key for me. So is a check box. I am going to make my own summer schedule of workouts that says what I should do each day and I'm drawing in the check boxes to make sure that I check each box. It's that whole planning thing that if you don't plan for it...you won't do it.
10. I am thankful that my body can do what it did. I am really thankful.
So...now what? I'm not sure. I'm going to continue working out...not sure if a blog is really necessary since I barf so much on fb. :)
Thank you for reading and offering words of encouragement. Those kept me going and I really did appreciate it.

Role Models

Well...it's been awhile. I've not kept up with this daily but I am still on track with the workouts. Today was day 50. That's right, day 50! Still going strong-wouldn't say loving this second month. I'm not an hour a day kind of exerciser especially when I'm super busy. This time of year is spent doing my favorite thing of the year and gearing up for Max's birthday. It's hard to fit it in but we're making it happen because that is what we said we would do.
I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with some absolutely amazing people. They're amazing on so may levels but what I want to speak to is their inspiration when it comes to fitness. I told some people that I was doing the workout in the theater and all kinds of people came to join. Women from their 60's down to the 12 year old tweener. Everyone did what they could and tried their hardest. What a testament to the power of staying in shape. The power of doing what you can day by day and keeping it up. I looked around at these women and felt so proud to be amongst them. They were proud of the hard work I'd done but I couldn't help but feel inspired by them. Everyone has a story and the fact that people just joined right in because they wanted to push themselves was lovely. It made the workout go by so much faster and was truly my pleasure to be amongst them.
Today I am thankful for FOTOG. I'm thankful for the people that go that make it so special year after year. They lead by example in so many arenas and they make me want to be a better person. I have 12 days left of this challenge...it's time to finish strong!

Square One

Wow...today is month 2. New workouts, new intensity. I felt like I was back to the beginning where I did a post titled, Ha! It was so hard. I couldn't do every move. Today was also the third fit test. My numbers went up in every category. Again, some more than others. But I am definitely stronger. All told, I worked out for almost an hour and a half. That's a really long time. I also spent most of today worrying about whether I'd die doing it! Obviously, I didn't. I made it and there's something to be said for starting a new habit and sticking with it for a while. I know I'm going to get stronger again. I know that while today's workout kicked my butt, it will be easier next time. I don't know if I'll ever be able to do every move but it will get easier. That's a confidence that feels nice to have.
I also like that it's hard again. I like that I know I'm doing a workout that pushes me. This is what I don't do when I leave myself to my own devices. I don't push myself at all. Even if I improve, I don't see what I'm capable of. This week doesn't feel hard to fit it in. It feels doable even if the workouts are longer. I know I'm going to do it this week and feel good about it. The only day I'm worried about is Saturday. I'm doing Relay for Life and will be basically up all night on Friday. Oh well... a power nap will pull me through. That's the other nice thing I've learned and internalized on this journey. Some days, my 100% isn't as good as my previous day's 100%. Before, I would have just quit or done nothing because why do something when you're not going to do it amazingly. This obviously wasn't good because something is always better than nothing. I would quit something and then usually spiral and need two weeks to get back on track. The calendar has kept me focused and filling in the boxes has been highly motivating. Even if it's not the best workout I've ever done, I do it.
So here's to day 36 done and in the books.

Feeling Thankful

This week is rest and recovery week. The video is the same for 6 days in a row. It will get a bit repetetive but there's comfort in knowing that I'll know it well and I can do every single move in the workout. Next month, the videos will get longer...I'm not sure how much more intense they can get, but they'll get longer. I'm worried about how to fit in an hour to an hour and a half but that is my task and I feel up to the challenge. It's been one month since I started this. Sadly, I haven't lost much weight. Nothing to write home about...or on this blog for that matter. But, I have lost somewhere around 3 inches if you add up the various measurements. My clothes look better but here's the best part...if I let go of the number, I feel pretty darn good. Everything fits, I feel really strong, and I'm proud that I've kept this up. Doesn't everyone tell you to let go of the number...but do we? I don't. I'm not a fan of letting it go.

But if you do...and focus on other things...then you can give yourself a gift. It's a gift to feel strong, to be able to push yourself, to be able to run around with your son on the baseball field. It's a gift to play a great game of what you love. It's a gift to inspire others and let them inspire you. We all have gifts to give to one another and to ourself. I feel thankful that I've stuck with this so far. It's not about the program but about pushing myself to do things that I set my mind to. Last week was rough in terms of motivation but this weeks feels a bit sunnier. I'm thankful for day
30.

Tonight's the Night

To work out hard and enjoy one of my favorite meals. I loved our trip to Red Robin. I ate exactly what I want and said very clearly, I'm just going to enjoy the meal without counting calories. I could still tell you how many calories I had for the day...but there's no need to divulge this information... :)
I did the workout hard. It was pure cardio and I did 20 push-ups in 45 seconds after tons of cardio. It felt great. The workout felt great and I was proud I did it on a Friday night. I ate what I felt like and tomorrow, it's back on track with the eating department. I am also going to workout hard tomorrow too. It's been almost a month. and Day 26 is done and in the books. Yay for almost a month!

No Excuses

You know...when you don't allow any, funny how you don't have any. I'm sick-I have a little cold but it's not an option to take the day off. I did the workout just fine. Granted, I was exhausted at the end and needed more time to recoup than normal but I made it and I worked hard. That's a good reminder that you can do it if you need to. I like continuing to work hard and pushing myself. I'm not a fan of eating healthy all the time so I should be thankful that my body can work hard to burn the calories that it needs to maintain this weight.
Another day in the books...I can't believe it's almost a month.

Overcoming

Well...I didn't blog yesterday. Mainly because I was annoyed with myself. I did the workout at half strength. I didn't get good sleep on Sunday which was completely my fault. I was tired and felt off on Monday. I did the workout but it wasn't my best effort. Not at all. I guess I'll be thankful that I did it. I would have used the circumstances as an excuse not to do one normally. My cough has evolved into feeling like a full-blown cold. This would normally be an excuse not to work out either. But today, I didn't use it as one. I said I'm going to give it my all and do the best I could. Thankfully, the body does more than we give it credit for. I did it and I put up a good showing.
I feel exhausted now but it's off to Max's game and my game for my other team tonight. Thankfully, I'm taking tomorrow off. My voice needs a rest and I can't stop coughing so it will be nice to sleep in and relax tomorrow.
Day 23 is in the books...I can't believe it but this is the last week before "cardio recovery" week and then the 2nd month picks up intensity...we'll see how that goes. Most of the workouts go up to an hour. Yikes! But today is done and I'm glad I'm back on track.