Check to see if hell froze over

I have a confession to make. For anyone who knows me, this will be pretty surprising. I kind of liked my run tonight. I don't want this to get around, so don't tell anyone, but it felt good. I was in a groove. Maybe something in me just clicked. I don't know. I don't think I'll ever become a distance runner, but a mile or two I can handle, and it's really not the worst thing in the world. In fact, I prefer it over death, which is a definite improvement from before.

Woo Hoo!!!

Well, I've worked really hard this week. I've been watching what I eat really closely, have not cheated at all (starting Monday), running every morning, started Turbo Jam on Wednesday, doing the push-up challenge.

And . . . I've lost 3 lbs this week! I'm so glad. I was really afraid that after all that I wouldn't have lost anything, or worse yet, gained. I know the scale isn't everything, and it's a good thing to eat healthier and work out, but I still want it to pay off. It makes me more motivated to keep going.

I've kept up with the running, and my leg actually doesn't hurt as bad, thank goodness. I started listening to music yesterday morning with my run (I don't know why I didn't think of it before then), and it makes it slightly better. It's still hard to forget that I'm running, or that every part of my legs hurts, but at least the pain is put to music now.

Sore!

As each day passes, I'm getting more and more sore. I'm pretty sure it's from the running in the morning. When I was a sophomore in high school, I started the track season (after doing track in 9th grade), and I pulled a muscle really bad in my right thigh. It was so bad that I had to drop out that year. I tried again the next year, but as soon as I started with the sprinting, the same muscle started hurting.

So now I'm having the same problem. It's not as bad as before, thank goodness, because at that time I could barely walk, but as each day passes I can feel it hurting more and more. I've had the pain flare up at times when I'm playing softball and running the bases, but that's usually just for a couple hours and it goes away. This pain is constant and growing.

So, I'm trying to decide if I should keep up with my daily run or just run a few more times before the triathlon. On the one hand, it gets me exercising in the morning, and I need the practice. And I'm afraid that if I skip a couple of days I won't get back into it. On the other hand, if my leg keeps getting worse then I'm afraid I won't be able to do the triathlon at all.

On another note, while I was running this morning, my legs (mostly my calves) were killing me to the point where I wondered how I was going to make this work. How in the heck was I going to be able to get on a bike and go for six miles when my legs felt so bad? So after I ran I grabbed my bike and rode a mile. It wasn't bad at all, and actually, the more I went the better they felt. They were still tired, but the bike riding kind of stretched out the muscles, much like walking does after a run. So, if I can get rid of this thigh pain, I think I'll be okay.

We'll not think about the swimming portion for now.

Getting Stronger

Today I upped my run to a mile. For any runners out there, that may seem like the shortest run ever, but for me (a person who hates running with a passion) it's pretty darn good. The only thing is, the right leg of my shorts always rides up, and my right calf always hurts more than my left. I wonder if I'm running funny. I need to get different shorts that won't ride up, too.

I've also been doing my push-up challenge. Last night, after doing five sets, I did 81 push-ups total. Regular push-ups, too, not girl push-ups.

Now, if only I could fit in any of my pants . . .

Swimming

I'm trying to train for the triathlon, and I haven't had a chance to get to the pool yet. I'm a little worried about the swimming portion. I need to get there at least a few times before then. I'm doing a lot of push-ups to strengthen my upper body, but I'm not sure how much that'll help me swim any kind of distance. I'm a little skeered.

Getting Better

Today I ran my half mile around the neighborhood, and it really wasn't as bad as it has been. I certainly didn't enjoy it, but I actually felt like I could maybe keep going for a little bit. Usually by the end of half a mile, I'm ready to be done, so I think I'm getting a little better at this running business. I think I'll be able to build up to the mile and a half by the end of August.

I also did day two of the push-up challenge. It's still hard. I'm not sure why they have me doing so many. I did 15 for my initial maximum amount, and it looks like on day three they have me doing 15 on one of the sets (of 5). That seems like a bit much to me. Oh well, I'll keep on keepin on.

Don't Break the Chain

I got a nifty new widget for my blog ------------------->

For every day I exercise for at least 15 minutes (hopefully it'll be much longer, but I'm keeping it manageable for now, I click on the date, and it turns red. I've missed a couple of days, but I'm hoping to have every day in August red.

100 Push Up Challenge

I'm doing the 100 push up challenge. My beginning number of push-ups was 15. I can do at least twice that if I do girl push ups, but that's it for real ones. It's sad, because I used to be able to do so much more. Oh well, it's not like I don't know I'm out of shape. So today I did day 1 of week 1 of the program. It kicked my butt.

I didn't do any other exercise today because my monthly visitor brought with it the usual migraine. I'm hoping to get back in the groove tomorrow.

Half Mile Again

I tried running the same distance I did yesterday. I guessed it at about half a mile, but it turns out it's not quite there--it's about .45 miles. Anyway, yesterday I felt like I was going to throw up, and just felt awful after I ran it (I had just done 3 miles on the bike first, as well). Today it wasn't so bad. I was a bit winded, but I recovered pretty quickly. For some reason, running and I just don't mix.

I'm going to keep doing that (almost) half mile every day until it feels comfortable, and then I'll double it and do a mile. On some days I'll be adding biking into it, and I'm going to try to make it to the pool for lap swimming a few times as well.

Oh for goodness sakes!

I have not only neglected this blog, I have neglected any kind of healthy thingies or stuffs. I weigh more now than ever, my belly is a big fat blob of, well, blobby stuff. I guess what I'm trying to say is I suck at this healthy business.

I'm doing a couple of things to try to get started again, though. I'm going to do a short triathlon at the end of August, so I'm training for that. And I joined a weight loss challenge at paperbackswap. So, I'm hoping one or both of those things helps me out in some way. Because I don't feel like myself anymore. And I want to.

Slacking Off

I've really been slacking off lately, partly out of busyness, partly laziness. I did get a good workout in today, and after the bunch of chocolate I ate this morning, I have been eating better. :D

So, once again, it's time to get serious. I mean it this time.

Making the Cut part 2

I finished reading Making the Cut last night, and there's no way that program is going to work for me. For the food portion, you're supposed to have meat every night for dinner, and most days for lunch. There's just no way that I can afford that. Meat is expensive! Also, a lot of exercises are for a person who is able to go to the gym and use machine weights, which I'm not because I don't have a gym membership, because that's also expensive.

I don't have the money to follow this program. Some of the exercises in it look good, and I'll incorporate those into my workouts at home, but that'll probably be all I do with it.

Making the Cut

I just started reading Making the Cut by Jillian Michaels. It's another 30 day thing (like the 30 day shred video I started doing). It's more emcompassing than just a workout video though, so I'm going to try to start following the plan in it tomorrow or Monday (depending on the food part). There is a fitness test at the beginning, and although it's kind of embarrassing to me how not fit I am (because compared to how I was in my late teens and early 20's, I'm bad), I'm posting the results anyway.

The first part was a three-minute step test, and I scored average (this is tested by taking my pulse afterwards).
The second part was a push-up test, and I scored above average (23 push-ups, which is sad when you consider I used to be able to do pretty much an unlimited amount).
The third part was a one minute sit-up test, and I scored excellent (49 sit-ups in the minute).
The third part was a wall sit to measure lower body strength, and I scored good (60 seconds).

So really, what this test tells me is that I really need to work on cardio, which I've been trying to do, but I need to do more of.

My BMR for figuring out what my daily caloric intake came out to around 1400, so that's where I'm going to try to keep my calories, give or take 100.

I also need to take measurements, and some before (she calls them goodbye) pictures with as little clothes as possible, neither of which I will be posting here.

Ouch! and Juice

I moved up to level 2 of the 30 Day Shred workout video today. I was doing pretty good with level 1, so I thought I'd try level 2. Let me tell you, that was the most I've worked my shoulders ever, I think. There was a lot of exercises with planks. And then near the end, when it felt like we'd already done 50 plank exercises, and we were on cardio (the last set of cardio), she said, once again, "get in the plank position". And I think I might have shed a tear or two.

But then I thought I can get through this. My shoulders will never work the same, but this is the last one, because abs are next. So, we finished cardio, and then we were moving onto abs, and I was all ready to get on my back, and she said, "Now, from the plank position, we're going to do oblique twists." All I can say is, after doing this video if I don't have really defined shoulders, something in the world is not right. I'm sure I'll be thankful during tanktop and swimsuit season.

Also, the missing part from my juicer that we ordered awhile ago finally came yesterday. So I've been trying to drink a lot more juice. I read an article in a magazine that said doing a week of juicing (which I'm not fully doing, just part) will help with a lot of different symptoms. And it listed them all, most of which I've been suffering from. I would list them, but I had borrowed the magazine from the library, and have since taken it back.

Anyway, this morning I had apple and carrot juice, and now for lunch I'm having sweet potato, carrot, celery, and plum juice. I'm not so sure about the sweet potato. I had it sitting in my fridge, and I decided I'd try to use it. I didn't even think it would produce very much juice, but it actually made the most juice out of anything I'd used today. It just gives the juice a little bit of grittiness. It's not bad, though.

Oh man, I suck

I decided to take the weekend off from doing the 30 Day Shred DVD. I had done it for four days in a row, and my body was telling me it needed a rest. But then, instead of being good and active, and eating well this weekend, I've been pretty lazy, and I've also eaten way, way too much.

I wouldn't be surprised if I gained 2 pounds this weekend, but I won't know, because I'm not going to weigh myself. I guess there's nothing to do but get back on track. I'm going to work really hard this week to eat more veggies and drink more water. Those will be my two goals for this week.

I'm seeing a lot of salads in my future for the upcoming week, which is just fine because I love salad. I'm also going to try to make more vegetarian meals, and my awesome friend, Christy (who is a vegetarian), is going to help me.

Day 2

I did day 2 of the 30 day shred this morning. It was even harder than yesterday, I think. Probably because I woke up sore and tired this morning. I made it through, and I'm (barely) still alive. Hopefully tomorrow will be easier and not harder, because I don't think I can't do it if it's any harder.

Then I decided to have Kaitlyn take a picture of me. I should have done it yesterday, for a true before picture, because I'm sure I've already grown tons of muscles and stuff. Kaitlyn didn't tell me that there was a clock and a shadow behind my head, making it look all funny. And she also likes to take pictures from below me, no matter how many times I tell her to hold the camera up higher, so it looks like I have more of a double chin than I do. The final comment I have about my picture was that this was after my workout, so I'm all tired and sweaty. But hey, maybe I look better than I did when I started. Who knows?

Changed My Mind

I went to Target last night, and while I was there I bought Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I did it this morning, and it kicked my butt. So, instead of torturing myself with Hip Hop Abs, I'm going to do this for 30 days instead, and see how it works. So today was day 1.

After this, I'm going to start training for a triathlon. I'm looking at this program. The only problem is that I don't really have a place to swim. I could go to a nearby rec center, but that could get pricey paying each time I go. It might also be hard to find time to go, and figuring out what to do with the kids. But I don't want to make excuses, so I just need to figure it out.

Givin' it one more try

I decided to try to do the Hip Hop Abs program for 30 days (again). When I first got the DVD's, I did them every day for probably a couple months. I didn't really think it was doing a whole lot, but now that I weigh 15+ pounds more, and my belly jiggles like a bowl full of jelly, I think maybe they actually were doing something.

I've tried a couple of times since then, but haven't been able to stick with it, because as funny as I found the instructor the first couple months, now he annoys me so much I'd like to give him a good smack upside the head. There is an option to do the music louder, so I can't hear him, but I don't really care for the music very much either.

I think I can stick with this for 30 days, though, and maybe by then it'll be warm enough to go bike riding. But if you find me one morning, and I've shot myself in the head, you'll know why.

Back Pain

I've been having a really hard time lately with exercising because I've had a ton of lower back pain. Most of the time when I stand up after sitting for any length of time, my tailbone hurts like crazy. I've always had a bad back, so this is nothing new, but it's worse than ever before. I'm not sure if it's the position on the recumbent bike or what. I might need to start looking on the internet for ideas on exercises that will either help me strengthen my back, or that are more gentle on the back.

Bike Ride

I took my bike out for a little ride around the neighborhood. I love my bike, but it's freezing out there. Even though it's probably in the 40's, it was a cold wind blowing in my face, and I think one of my ears fell right off. I'm realizing riding a regular bike is a lot harder than my recumbent exercise bike. It'll probably give me a lot more exercise, which is a good thing.

Podcasts

Sometimes I like to listen to podcasts while I work out. But I only like to listen to good ones. So I'm looking for recommendations for good podcasts. What do you like to listen to?

New Bike!

I got my new bike today. I love it, and even though it's not the fastest or best bike out there, I really think this will work well for what I want to do. I could have picked a better background for my picture, but I didn't want to open up the garage, and plus, it's winter. There's no pretty blue sky or green grass right now.

I ended up getting the Trek 7100. It's pretty similar to the one two posts down, except the flowers are brown, and it's got a pinkish tint to it. I didn't even notice the pink tint until we got it outside in the sun. It just looked cream colored in the store. I think it's such a cute bike, though. I almost talked myself out of getting it, because I wondered if I was just getting it because it was cute, and that it wouldn't work well, but I'm just a beginning cyclist, I think this one will work great.

Here's the cute seat. It's definitely not as comfortable as my recumbent bike that I've been exercising on, but I'll get used to it.

I thought the handles were pretty darn cute, too:

Now if it could just be warm already, I could go for a nice, long ride. I went out for a few minutes when I got home, but it's cold, and with a wind blowing in my face I couldn't stand it for very long.

Not a day for healthy eating

Who doesn't eat a bunch of junk on Superbowl Sunday? I'm sure there are lots of people who don't care about the Superbowl, therefore don't feel the need to eat a lot of junk food. I'm not one of those people. I don't know what it is about the Superbowl that makes me feel like I have to eat more stuff. But you just gotta!

I didn't do too bad, though. I had a bit of candy, but that's really all the extra stuff I ate. I think if Troy was more into the Superbowl (he watched a movie downstairs instead), it might be worse.

I did 9 miles today on my exercise bike. Last week's total was 74 miles, which was my best week so far. I'm hoping to do more this week, though. Plans for buying a real bike are moving forward, and I can't wait for spring and warm weather.

New Bike

I'm planning to get a new bike. Not to replace an old one, since I don't have one, but because I really want one. I didn't quite know how expensive bikes were until I started looking at some, but hey, if Troy can buy guns for 4 or 5 hundred (or more) dollars, I should be able to get a bike for the same, right?

Here are a few that I've been looking at, and I really like these a lot. I also hear that Trek is a pretty good brand.