Holy tough day at...

the gym, Batman!!

I did it! I started the C25K program this morning. I started in spite of the rain. I started in spite of the cold. I started in spite of the lack of ANY hot water to take a shower to help me wake up. (I guess cold water helps me wake up more than hot anyhow!) I started in spite of my demon ass telling me, "eat a couple Eggos with peanut butter and bananas and lay down on the couch to watch Comedy Central!"

This morning, I hauled my ass out of bed and was at my trainer's gym at 8:00 a.m. I USED to be a morning person, but lately, I've been wanting to sleep later and later and later. I think it probably has something to do with staying up at night later and later and later. I've got to get back on my normal schedule, but that's not priority #1 right now.

I had a full hour of weight training with my trainer at her gym, then I drove across the street to Gold's and hit the treadmill. Considering that it's been several months since I managed to do more than a half hour or so of cardio in one shot, I was terrified....but I went. I was trying (yeah, I know "trying" is a 4 letter word) to do the longer distance, 6 week version of the C25K program. It seems that there are several.

For Week 1 - Day 1, my instructions were to:

* walk "briskly" for 1 mile...then...
* run 2 minutes until reaching 3.5 miles...then...
* walk for 1 mile

I managed to:

* walk "briskly" (if 3.3 mph is "briskly) for 1 mile...then...
* run (more like lumber at 4.5 mph) for 2 minutes (in 30 second bursts) every 0.5 miles until I reached 2.5 miles...

Then...

I collapsed for about 10 minutes.

Then...

I took an hour long "BodyFlow" class. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Gold's Gym "Group X" classes, BodyFlow is a combination of taichi, yoga, and pilates.

Then...

I went home and ate the most massive salad ever with some of my trainer's yummy "unfried" chicken strips cut up on it.

Now...

It's everything I can do to summon the energy to type this post.

Later...

I'm hoping my husband will want to drive me back to the gym. (He committed to starting the C25K program today too!) I don't think my arms have the strength to steer. If we go, I will knock out at least another mile on the treadmill.

Judging by how much my EVERYTHING hurts right now, I can tell that this is going to be a long, tough, but VERY rewarding program.

I'm starting the...

C25K (Couch to 5K) training program tomorrow. While the normal program runs for about 9 weeks, I found one that's only 6 weeks. I'm going to try to do a combination of the two. The shorter program seems to put more mileage on you...the longer one starts with you jogging more...faster and sooner. Considering that I've realized that I can do just about ANYTHING for a couple minutes at a time, I'm going to push along with the shorter distances and move my ass a little faster. Why? Because the idea of walking/jogging/running/dying on a treadmill for upwards of an hour and a half a day is abhorrent to me!

I'm enlisting my husband to keep me company at the gym. I've told my friends that I'm doing this. I've told complete strangers on cruisecritic.com that I'm doing this. I want to be able to RUN when I go on my birthday cruise! I also desperately want less of my ass to be hanging out of my bathing suit. This program's going to help me accomplish both goals and I'm seeking out anyone and everyone to help me stay accountable.

Speaking of accountability...I've started emailing my trainer every day with a list of all the food I've shoved down my gullet. She's having some sort of contest and, technically, only wants us to email her when we do NOT screw up and eat things like chocolate bars and tortilla chips...but I'm breaking the rules and telling her about EVERYTHING I eat. It's the honor system, I know...and I guess I could lie and not tell her about the things that I should have stayed away from....but, dammit, she's tricky. I know she can look at my ass and tell if I've been eating right...so I might as well preempt her and 'fess up.

Ass, you'd better suck it in. I already admitted scarfing 1/2 of that milk chocolate sea salted caramel bar yesterday. It's going to get beat off you one way or another.

I only...

ate THREE tortilla chips last night at dinner! Well, three chips and a fajita salad with no cheese, no tortilla "strips", no olives (never understood why a chef would think olives belonged anywhere near Mexican food), and no dressing!

I. Am. Proud.

I know it seems like a small accomplishment, but considering how far off track I've been for the past few months, it wasn't. I wanted those chips so bad I thought I was going to die. But, you know what? I'm still here and feel sooooooo much better about myself for my accomplishment.

Starting Monday, I'm going to be working out with my trainer, Danielle, five times a week. I'm not sure exactly what she's planning for the extra two days, but I am sure it will be PAINFUL and burn massive calories. My birthday is looming. I've got to kick this stuff into high gear!

Hear that, ass? You're getting ready to get kicked....hard.

I'm finally getting...

back on track! I hadn't been tracking my food, or following the plan I laid out for myself, or even blogging about all the ups and downs, but I'm here now and DOING IT ALL! So what if I blew the first weeks of the year? Some lessons are learned the hard way. I'm not going to live in the past. I'm going to live for NOW...and NOW I'm knocking them out of the ballpark. I'm eating right again (if you don't count the bag of Cheetos I scarfed at my son's debate tournament this weekend.) I'm getting more much needed sleep. I'm back to work with my trainer, Danielle, and rapidly regaining the massive amount of strength I lost while I was out of commission with the #@$@! vertigo. Life, for the most part, is pretty darn good.

It's amazing how things fall into place when I get up off my ass and DO what I know I need to do. It reminds me so much of what I learned at fat camp. While I was there, I consistently lost between 3 and 5 pounds a week. I think that was a pretty darn good percentage for someone my size. (I could be a LOT heavier, you know?) There were some other people there that didn't hit the same numbers. Invariably, they were the people that "tweaked" the program...a skipped workout here...an extra spoon of salad dressing there...and so on. They always had some sort of excuse about slow metabolism or whatever. I've used all the same excuses and know them much too well...but, as I said then and repeat now: IT WORKS IF YOU WORK IT.

So, that's what I'm trying to do. In order to meet my primary goal, I have to lose an average of nearly 5 pounds a week (yes, I KNOW it's a LOT - but it's also very much within the realm of possibility - I'm already down 2 in the past 2 days!) between now and my birthday. I won't beat myself up emotionally if I don't get there BY my birthday, because I know I will get there...and soon. Regardless, I'm getting stronger and more fit every day and that's more important than the number on the scale.

Ass, you only THOUGHT you had me under the barrel. You were mistaken.