No More Lazy Bones!

It has been awhile since I’ve focused on fitness. Although I have been focusing on my eating habits, I have been almost exponentially gaining weight these last few weeks and months. This is a sure sign that I need to increase my physical activity, and despite the fact that I am busy, I am never too busy for my health and welfare.

I signed up for the Jingle Bell Run/Walk this Saturday. What’s really funny is I was a team captain last year and I ran it and was cute, small and adorable. This year, I am walking it, and am not cute, fat, and way less adorable, and will not have a team of fitness gurus. I will, however, be walking with the girl I met at some road races last year, so it will be nice to talk to her and make some fitness goals together.

I am so embarrassed of the weight that I have put on, and unfortunately that shame hasn’t been motivating me to take action. It’s motivated me to hide from the world and be too embarrassed to participate in a lot of my prior activities. I worked so hard to lose weight several years ago, and I was running all of the time and keeping active. I was a part of a running club while I was on travel…running was so important to me and now it is nothing.

I intend on “starting over” in the running department, and participating once more in the Couch to 5k running plan that infected me with the running bug several years ago. I am going to sign up for a half-marathon in the spring, as a motivator for gaining and keeping fit during the winter months. I need to operate on the “No Excuses Plan”, where, obviously, there are NO EXCUSES for not working out and being active. It will be quite a lifestyle change…changing back to my old, healthy lifestyle, from this sedate lifestyle I’m currently [not] enjoying.

So my first step is this walk. My second step is to start going to the gym regularly. I need to determine when it is best for me to go. It is so darned busy after work, so I should go in the morning. But I'm so darned lazy in the morning...I think what I am going to do is try to go to the gym two mornings a week, and do a workout video at the house the other three days. If I find that I just can't do the mornings, then I am going to wait in line at the gym and suck it up and do it there 3 times a week, with a work out video twice a week at home. My goal is to keep active on the weekends by walking outside and partipating in active events.

I need to figure out what half marathon I am going to do. I'd like to do one in the midwest so I can go "home" and take Mircea to see my old stomping grounds. I'll post later on when I determine what race I'll participate in. If I'm lucky, I'll run a decent half and be able to run a full marathon in the Fall, but I don't want to set myself up for failure as I have in the past.

I do want to put a disclaimer here. I am very hard on myself about my weight...but I don't think that people that are overweight are "lazy" or "worthless" like I feel about myself. The reason I hold myself to that standard is because I maintained a very healthy weight for much of my young adult life, and though I put on weight, I took the iniative to get it off and become more active. That is the lifestyle that I want to live, and I know if I don't rebuild those habits now, then I will be very unhappy with myself and it will become impossible to take the weight off as I age and my life changes (babies?).

I'll post a picture of myself at the walk this weekend...with a picture of myself from last year. Here's hoping next year's will look more like the "old" me.

Day One: Wow I'm Out of Shape

Today was my first run. Not on the running plan (which starts Monday) but a little test to see how out of shape I am. I think I win the award for "most out of shape ever".

I'm going to try again tomorrow. Same path. Let's see how it goes on Day 2. It can't get much worse!!

More Swimming

I did some swimming today, and I did better than the last time. At least I'm improving, I can't ask for much more than that, you know? I think that Robyn and I are going to swim tomorrow outside, which will be nice. Hopefully I'll get a little sun...I'm so pale.

It's hot as heck out there today so I'm not sure I'll be running. I have to mow the lawn and I'm pretty sure that will be more sweat than I'm looking for.

Lunch Time Calorie Burning

Instead of consuming calories during the noon hour, I went with my friend John to the Drill Hall (base gym) to get some exercise. I used the recumbent bike for 40 minutes and then it was time to go. It was so hot in there, but I feel a lot better for having done it and don't feel the pressure to do it after work (when I don't want to move a muscle).

I was feeling so fat, out of shape and ugly this weekend and realized that no food, no matter how tasty, is worth feeling this way and it's time to get over the shame of letting myself put on some weight and get rid of it, before it becomes any more. I have a wine and cheese party at the French Embassy tomorrow (pretty cool huh?) but I don't intend on having too much of either of those items as 1.) Neither are figure friendly and 2.) I'm driving. I'll be home too late tomorrow to get any activity in, but schmoozing will probably burn a few calories. And probably squeezing into my outfit. Those are both verbs right?

Doggie Paddle

Robyn and I went swimming today and it went a lot better than the first time, but I would like to see a lot more improvement before I have any sort of confidence in my swimming. I have a lot of trouble with the breathing and it's sort of affecting the rest of my swimming because I'm concentrating so hard on not dying.

I definitely want to start focusing on my fitness. I'm feeling so heavy (ok, I am heavy) and that is just not the person that I want to be and I only feel bad about myself when I am like this. I heard this on a gym commercial in San Diego "No one ever says 'man, I wish I hadn't gone to the gym today'." No kidding!!

4 Services, 1 Slow Runner

I was feeling really inspired last night while reading my Runner’s World. I really enjoyed how I felt when I was running-on so many fronts. I was looking in the back of the magazine where they have a lot of ads for upcoming races, I saw the information on the US Air Force Marathon. It’s in September and too close to the MCM to do both, but they have a half marathon option and that might be kind of nice. It’s in Ohio and I have a lot of family in the area, so I could probably find a place to stay for the day. Well that got me thinking even more. If I’m doing the MCM (USMC) and then the Air Force, why don’t I do something to support the Army and the Navy? I knew about the Army 10-Miler and the Navy 5-Miler, so those were perfect amounts and the dates were appropriate as well. One catch-the Army 10-Miler is sold out, so I can’t get in there, though I did put a request for someone who wants to transfer their registration. I thought this would be a great motivator for me, and I’ve decided not to let it bring me down. Worst case scenario, I’ll just run 10 miles on that day, or I’ll run the course on another day and feel good for having done it.

I’m going swimming again tomorrow. I read Robyn my anonymous comment (thank you) about the option of going outside, so after our midday swim inside, we’re going to stop by the outdoor pool and verify. That would be great and then we could still go there after hours. There’s no way they’ll think we’re there for fun-I look like a bloated sausage in my bathing suit-the only way I would be doing this is for exercise!

Still looking for a nose plug and I’m starting to worry that I won’t find one. I really feel like I need it and it will hopefully help me with nose thing.

I’m finishing moving this weekend so I should start having a lot of free time coming up here. My boyfriend is working long hours all summer so I think that I will use that time to really make some waves in my fitness. I’ll have plenty of time to work out after work and still have dinner on the table when he gets home (I’m not old-fashioned, he’s just working 12 hour days temporarily and I want to help out.)

Thwarted Plans

Just when I was getting excited about swimming, the pool adopted summer hours, which means it closes at 3 p.m. and you are required to use the outdoor pool if you wish to swim. The catch? The outdoor pools costs $3 a pop, so needless to say, I will not be going there. Robyn and I are probably going to go on our off Fridays, but we would have liked to have made this a little more regular. Oh well.

I still haven't run, and although I want to, I just feel so heavy and cumbersome. I realize that I won't lose weight unless I run (or do some other form of exercise) but I feel too heavy for that exercise. I've been doing Weight Watchers for a week and although I lost two pounds at the beginning of the week, I seemed to have gained it back (but it is "lady time", so who knows?).

I'd like to think I'll run today, but I probably won't. I'm still trying to move my stuff and fit everything into the house, so I don' t have a ton of free time.

I wish there was some miracle weight loss pill that was in a combo pack with a running motivation pill. I know that if I just run a couple of days I'll keep making time for it, but I just can't seem to make the time.

Little Swimmer

In an effort to start getting back into my fitness routine, my friend Robyn has coaxed me into swimming with her once a week. We did pretty well, though she totally schooled me (after saying she wasn't a strong swimmer). I'm going to buy a nose plug because my biggest problem with swimming has always been that I can't get a good rhythm for my breathing. I think the nose plug will help me, not because I breathe through my nose underwater, but because I seem to splash myself when I'm trying to breathe out of my mouth.

So no, I haven't run at all yet, but I am starting to get back into my fitness routine so that the start into running is a little less painful. I'm also doing Weight Watchers again to get some of this extra "lazy weight" off of me, and I already feel better about myself and my eating habits.

Hooray!