Run around girl

Last night Greg was on call which means that he was still on call when I left the house this morning. He actually got a page right after I got up, it was just an update on lab results but for second I thought I wasn't going to be able to go run. I must say I was a little disappointed. I assured him I'd take my phone and give it to John while I ran, that way if he got paged I would just come home. As I drove to the athletic field I kept checking my phone, making sure it was on and that I had it on the right setting. Arriving at the field I handed my phone over to John telling him Greg was on call and that he may call. John's response was he couldn't wait to talk to him. I can only imagine how that conversation would have gone. We started the run with the long route which included the stairs. Once again I made it up and down the stairs on both of my long route loops. I must say I felt the run was harder today, it was a little warmer than it's been in the past week and it made running a little bit hotter. I felt I was going slower than my usual pace and I must admit that I walked more than I wanted to. I will be the first to admit that I hoped that Greg was calling ask me to come home. The last lap of the run was the short lap around the stadium, I was relieved to finish. I never really got into a zone today, I felt each step, each hill and each breath. I still managed to run over 3 miles and I'm proud of doing the best I could.

Multitasking a fitness story

This morning was weigh in day and I'm pleased to say I lost 5 pounds last week. I think it was that delicious Thai soup, but really it wasn't. The theme for today's post is multitasking, first because we worked arms, legs, and shoulders all in the same exercise and because going to boot camp isn't enough to reach my goal. The exercise was kind of brutal today, squats then biceps curl and finally pressing the weight over our head then repeat over and over and over again.

Yesterday he talked about us needing to get our second 35 minute cardio workout in 5 days a week. I did mine yesterday while Gabi was at school, I rode the stationary bike. I felt good that I finished it, this morning I think there might be a Zumba class so I might check that out instead. Another facet of this life changing boot camp is the diet. I've never really liked diets, in fact this may be the first one I've ever really been on. The hardest part for me is eating more often, but I did it last week and I clearly got results. Therefore this week I'm going to keep eating properly and add in the extra exercise and see what happens next week. I only have a few more weeks before I go home for the wedding so I need to Emeril it (kick it up a notch...BAM).

Week 7: It's only going to get harder.

Another Monday workout has come and gone. I don't know what it is about Monday's, but every single one gives me a tummy ache. I managed to eat my wheat roll before we got to class, but just barely. Today we focused on cardio and abs. It was hard and I'm very sweaty as I write this post. We got a few new people in our class and now that everyone is starting at different times I wondered if the workouts would get a little easier. The answer is no, he just expects more from those of us who've been in the class longer. Today was an Ab work out that nearly brought me to tears. As we held our feet out and squeezed our Abs with all our strength he talked about not quitting. Small tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes blending with the sweat pouring off my forehead but I held on. I don't want to be a quitter, I know I have Abs and they probably need a good workout. We also ran from a push up position, then did some push-up/stand up reps. Both of which made me very dizzy, probably an unsafe drop in blood pressure. It was a hard workout but I know that tomorrow will be harder.

Wonderful Weekend

This weekend turned out to be full of great weather and great family fun. First off no one was sick, which always tends to bring the quality of a weekend down slightly. Greg was on call Friday and did get called in at 4:30 am. He was back in time for me to go to Cardio Funk, but I chose to stay in bed instead. My legs still hurt terribly, to the point where sitting on the toilet was horribly painful.

Saturday we went to the southern part of the island to the Peace Prayer Park. It contains a cemetery, museum, wall of the fallen, and a peace tower. We saw everything, walking through the tombs in the cemetery was beautiful, each had some sort of water feature and a place to hang origami cranes. Later when we walked through the rows and rows of names we got a true sense of the scope of how many people died in the battle of Okinawa. Once inside the museum we got headsets so we were able to hear the narration in English. I must say that this museum was heartbreaking, the pictures they chose to display were hard to look at, the stories the survivors told were difficult to listen to. The fortitude of the Okinawan spirit is so strong, the fact that they are still friendly and kind after what they endured during the way is humbling. After the museum we walked to the Peace Tower, which contained a huge statue of Buddha. It also had a collection of paintings inspired by Okinawan history, including the battle. They were truly beautiful and the depiction of certain aspects of the war were done with beauty and compassion. Gabriella for the most part sailed through the museum enjoying the maps and the children's features.

After the museum we went to eat at the fabled Thai in the Sky. It's a thai restaurant overlooking the pacific ocean. It's come with all sorts of recommendations and we finally went. It was so delicious, the Tom Yum soup I had was amazingly spicy and comforting. I ate until I was sure I was going to throw up. I'm pleased to say I didn't. I'm also glad that it's far and hard to get to because if that wasn't the case I would probably go there everyday. Greg had a delicious pad thai and Gabi got the obligatory kids plate that contained a little of everything. I also had their lemongrass tea which was delicious. I was so full after the meal I didn't eat for the rest of the day.

Sunday I taught my second CCD class, my students are working on the Our Father. After that we went to church and then back home. We decided to go out to lunch and catch a movie. We saw Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs. All of us enjoyed the movie, Gabi's favorite part was the spaghetti tornado. The movie made me hungry. We also had the Broom's over for a barbecue in the evening. All and all a great weekend.

Staring at the Stairs

This morning I woke up from a crazy dream and hobbled my way down the stairs. Every part of my legs were hurting and as I sunk down into the chair to check my email while I ate my bagel I wondered how I'd be able to run. It turns out I ran fine, of course now my legs hurt even more but I suppose that is to be expected. Today was the first day I did the stairs. The stairs is just what it sounds like, 4 flights of stairs to a beautiful lookout. We had to run up and down them twice before continuing our lap. Normally John tells me to bypass the stairs, but not today. I took it as a sign of progress, he knows that I would be able to do make it up and down without dying. I made it up and down twice and finished running the first lap, today I ran the whole way even up the hills. It did take me 30 minutes to do that first lap, but I suppose I couldn't expect to go faster with the stairs than I do without them. The second lap was hard, I walked around the stadium and finally started to run again when I got to the parking lot. I think today was the first time I've ever reached the meditative state where you feel like you could run forever, I believe it's called the zone. My zone only lasted until I got to the stairs then it was completely destroyed. I only made it up and down the stairs once on the second lap. I thought I'd cut my losses and attempt to make it back to my car without having a heart attack. I did manage to run back to the starting point with a fair amount of ease. When I say ease I mean that I didn't keel over and was able to breath. All and all today was a good day, the run was good and the stairs are a sign on progress.

Insane Workouts lead to Insanity

This morning I actually signed up for another 12 weeks of boot camp. I paid my money and got my receipt, I'm all signed up for another 12 weeks of 4:07 am wake up calls and pain. Why did I do it? Well I'm still asking myself that question. It was a great deal, half off the price, so clearly I'm a sucker for a bargain. The other reason I did it was because I've really made some positive changes in my life in the last 6 weeks and I'd like to continue on the road I've started. It's a journey and it's painful but I'm going to be healthier and happier at the end of it. I need to build habits, positive habits and getting up and working out is one of them. Greg asked me if I thought I could still continue to motivate myself once the class was over and I told him I didn't know. I can be flighty and when push comes to shove occasionally I just walk away and give up. I think another boot camp will help cement my fitness regimen and help me to loose a little more weight. After all I'm going to be in a wedding next summer, I want to look my best.

Today we worked on our legs in what I would call painful power squats. We did it for 35 minutes taking a few breaks here and there. It was a short work out but it packed a punch, I was exhausted and drenched in sweat when I got home. Walking has been painful all day, going up and down stairs excruciating. It's a good kind of pain, what am I saying the pain is terrible, I think this boot camp has turned me into a masochist. Because I just paid more money to get put in this type of pain for the next 18 weeks, that I think is the definition of insanity.

Run like the wind

Today was a run day and I did awesome. I finished 3 laps (about 4.5 miles) in 55 minutes, and my last lap was under 15 minutes. I've never finished my run before 6 am, ever. I did a lot of things differently this morning, first of all I had bread and fruit as my 4 am mini meal, at John's suggestion. I think it may have given me more energy because as I'm writing this the pull of the bed is not as strong. Secondly, I changed my music selection. Instead of listening to some rock and roll or pop songs I put on my flag playlist. This playlist consists of all the songs I use to hear at flag competitions, some of which I had routines to. As I listened to these songs I thought about the routines, the costumes, how young and thin I was and I forgot (kind of) I was running. I didn't think of the pain, or the heat, or how far I still had to go, all I thought of was flags. So even though the songs were slower paced I ran faster. The biggest change was me, when I got up this morning I told myself I wanted to run 3 laps. I've changed in these last 6 weeks of boot camp. If I look back 6 weeks ago I couldn't even stay on the route, I got lost so many times that it's impossible to know how far I ran that day. Yet today I competently ran the route in my best time yet with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. I've changed a lot in these past weeks, not just my body but my mind. So really the only difference today that matters is me, I'm different and it's progress.