Working Out - An Actual Plan

So on Friday afternoon the UPS delivery man made a delivery to my house.  It was a much anticipated but much dreaded delivery.  It was the delivery of my T25 package. I was excited, nervous, and terrified all at the same time.  So I did what any girl would do, I shut those nerves and anxiety down with a snack!

Now, I acknowledge this was not the most mature decision I made but I justified it because I did workout already and decided that I would deal with this T25 nonsense on Saturday.  I was going to enjoy my Friday, after all I was meeting a friend at the mall!

So Friday's retail therapy came and went and Saturday afternoon arrived.  It was time...  I opened the box and started reading all of the materials.  ShaunT is LONG WINDED in his marketing material!  I mean shit, I already bought the program, chill.  After reading (almost) everything l I decided to follow the instructions (this is a relative first for me) so I took my measurements and starting weight and also took my before pictures from all angles.  PLEASE NOTE: none of these things will be shared here because there are insanely embarrassing. I will, however, tell you that I have a long way to go and have a goal of losing 75 pounds (more about that goal and timeline in a later post - this is known in the literary world as a cliffhanger).

Anyway, I did my first workout on Saturday afternoon and I started with the mindset 'it's only 25 minutes' - I can do anything for 25 minutes, right? WRONG! It took me 42 minutes to complete since I pushed pause so many times since in addition to believing in heavy marketing ShaunT also doesn't believe in breaks during 25 minute workouts #Jerk. However, I finished.  I barely finished, but I finished and actually felt pretty decent about myself.

MEMO: you will need to immediately shower upon completion of the workout because you will be a disgusting ball of smelly sweat.  There will be nothing attractive or 'glistening' about it.  You will smell like rotting ass and you will be essentially sopping wet so just do everyone a favor and go right into the shower.

Ok, so I did a workout on both Saturday and Sunday.  I was feeling pretty good about myself - enter my husband. He tends to fancy himself a 'gym person' and feels that he knows a lot about working out.  I told him I was doing T25 and explained what it was and asked him if he wanted to do a workout with me, he sort of made a face but politely declined (this was Sunday morning).  He continued to run his mouth about 'workout DVD's not being real workouts' and 'being for girls' BLAH BLAH BLAH.

Anyway, I convinced him to try it with me on Monday night - he wouldn't let me take an 'after' picture (to save his pride) but let me just paint the picture - he started to whine 4 minutes into the workout, so you can imagine how it went...  He was DRENCHED at the end of the workout. LOVED it, and is now HOOKED!  He is SOOO hooked he has even agreed to get up at 6AM with me every morning to do the program!

I am only 4 days in, but so far I am really enjoying this (after all it is only 25 minutes) and I am hoping that it keeps me motivated and hooked to keep working out.  For a girl that HATES (read LOATHES) working out 25 minutes 5 days a week is a pretty decent compromise. I am also sure that it will only enhance my half training and keep me motivated.

On a completely different note I also just committed to run the Philly Half-Marathon in November - EEK!

Oreos & Being Lazy #AFewOfMyFavoriteThings

It is crazy to think that I need more motivation than knowing that I can and WANT to be healthy in order to keep up my exercise schedule.  I look back over the last few months and realize that while I do love working out and feeling great (once I get started) I also love being lazy and Oreos!

When you  are on a path and are regular being healthy it's easy to keep it up but once you take a break (whether forced or not) it is entirely too easy to fall very far off your path of health.  As I look at ways to keep my self motivated to start my exercise back up as I train for the Runners World Half Marathon on Oct 19 I remembered this amazing video that a great friend did of my experience during the Broad Street Run in May.

The Broad Street Run was my first run what was longer than a 5k and I was terrified, I was also not prepared- but I did it.  Watching this video was just the inspiration I needed to help me knock out another workout today and keep me jazzed to plan a trail run for tomorrow!  If you are interested please take the time to watch the video (the link is below).

http://vimeo.com/95068749
Password: Running Broad

Where did my motivation go?

Do you ever have days weeks months when you honestly don't feel like doing anything? This has been that time for me.  I am trying to chalk it up to recovering from an illness and the change of seasons but honestly it's just laziness.

I am scheduled to run a half-marathon on Oct 19th and am starting to get VERY worried!  I had been on a great training schedule up until about 2 weeks ago, even running a 5K on Saturday Sept 20 with a somewhat decent time (49 min - yeah I know it's slow but for me it was pretty good.  I didn't stop and I kept a slow jog the entire time).  However, that Monday I was diagnosed with Shingles which took me out of training (and pretty much life) for a week.  I fell into a lazy routine and it has been hard to recover (it has also been hard to wear clothes and a sports bra due to the pain) however I NEED to get back at it.

I have 14 days and I am going to pick up the pace, dig deep and find my motivation because I really need work in order to make sure I am in decent shape on Oct 19 to at least have a somewhat 'ok' jog and walk pace during my 13.1!

I am making a pledge that starting today through Friday, Oct 17 I will train EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

End whining.

Introduction

Everyone has a reason they want to get in shape.  For me it has always been the desire to be healthy.  I have always wanted to be the person that was able to participate in activities without be judged for how they look, without getting winded, and without needing to stop for breaks.  I have always wanted to be able to just be part of the normal crowd and for some reason I associated normal with an average weight and good health.  I do realize that weight and health are not always companions, but for me I am hoping I can have both.

In addition to wanting to be healthy I also, like most people, have a very superficial reason for wanting to lose weight and be healthy.  I want to be able to wear cute cloths, shop in fun stores, not squeeze into plane seats, and now have to run to wrap myself in a towel the second I step out of the ocean.  I want to be proud of my body and want to be able to show it off with cute clothes and styles -  yes, this is a stupid and superficial reason but it is also a huge motivator!

For me the journey to get in shape has been a LONG (read winding, never ending, UP-HILL) journey that doesn't seem to have an ending in the near future.  I have tried everything, MANY gyms, personal trainers, diet plans, weight loss programs,  pre-packaged meals, doctors, etc. - just to name a few.  Everything worked for awhile but then I always, inevitably, gained the weight back and fell back into my same routines.  Getting healthy is easier said than done.  We all KNOW what we need to do: eat right, exercise, "it's a way of life not just temporary", create a new outlook, etc BLAH, BLAH, BLAH - I have heard it all before and honestly I can rattle it off to anyone and make is seem like I know what I am doing - but honestly it's not true, I don't know what I'm doing, if I did I would be healthy!

In January I decided I needed a change - I know what you are thinking, right another New Years Resolution, #Lame.  But I decided that I was going to do it and I think sometimes that is all it takes - you need to really want to do it.  I told everyone I knew, I figured what better way to stick to my guns than fear of embarrassment and disappointing others?  The other motivation I decided I needed was a strong financial commitment that would make me continue the journey.  Like most people, the idea of losing money is NOT appealing.

This blog is going to be the story of how (now 9 months into this journey) I have managed to stay relatively on track with my journey and have continued to be semi-successful in my plan to get in shape and get healthy.  It has not been all champagne and roses - actually there has been very little champagne and roses. There have been a ton of road blocks and a lot of internal battles but I have persevered and continue to fight everyday.  I will also share stories and experiences from my past that have helped to shape my current outlook on my journey as well as my everyday experiences.

I hope you enjoy reading my story and can laugh with (and at me) along the way.  I also hope that through my journey you find just a little bit of courage or motivation to start or continue your own!