Week Three

It's been nearly 3 weeks since the start of the BTC and I've been killing it in the gym. In fact, my body is a bit sore and beat up right now, so I'm taking tomorrow off.....well, I say that now. I've been having some problems sleeping, so I've been getting up and heading to the gym at 4:50am. It's great for my system and has been an awesome way to start the day, so I'm thinking if I'm up tomorrow, I may just go in and run for 30 minutes. We shall see how I feel in the morning. I do like getting the workout in before my day starts b/c more times than not, I'm so drained from the day that the temptation to just go home and veg wins over a gym visit. Anyway, enough on that!

The point of my rambling is that I feel like I'm doing well, I feel changes in my body already, and I'm energized. Someone actually said to me at the group training last night "You've got to be doing well, you are here all the time!". Yay! It's truly a life change. I've been working out for years, but this time it's different. I'm incorporating proper nutrition with daily exercise, and I'm getting results.

I do have a question??? I'm doing great and feeling changes, but when I get on the scale, I'm not really seeing the results. I JUST DON'T GET IT!!! I can't put my finger on what I'm missing on this journey and I really need to figure it out in order to make the life change permanent, and not get discouraged along this 10 week BTC journey and beyond. We have mid program weigh in coming up around week 5. If anyone has any insight or suggestions to get the scale moving, I'm all ears! I've been working out (hardcore workouts), monitoring my diet, and working to get proper sleep and decrease stress. Over the 3 week period I've only seen about a 2lb change in the scale. I realize that isn't enough information to make a diagnosis, but any suggestions on jumpstarting would be fantastic!

Double Session Saturday!

Today rocked! I went to the new release of Body Attack and then stayed for the BTC saturday circus workout. It was fantastic! I felt soooo good.....although I later fell asleep in the car as we were driving around looking at boats. Oops... I definitely had a throurough butt kicking this morning! Thank you Body Attack and BTC!

Now I'm headed to a much deserved girl's night at a friends house. Good times!

Day Two....

Even though today was a holiday and I wonderfully had the day off, I still got up at 4:30a.m. to make it to the 5a.m. BTC workout with Paige. She is a pretty kickbutt trainer, so I dragged myself out of bed to make it to the gym. Great workout, only 30 min, but still a good early morning workout. I went home after that, showered and then went back to bed for about an hour or so. I then headed to the gym for round two because I was feeling guilty that the morning workout was only 30 mins. I went in for BodyFlow, which is a type of yoga/pilates and loved it!! This was my first time with this class, and I'm only bummed that I'm just starting it now. Good stuff! The eating is under control so far, and maybe I'll even throw in a run for later this week!

Body Transformation Challenge '10

BTC '10 has begun! Today was picture, weigh in, & measurements day. Basically, today was reality check day! I knew things had gone down hill regarding my physical health and wellness, and I learned the hard facts on how far I've let myself go. I've got my work cut out for me, but I know that I'm ready to make a permanent change and get back on track. I know I can control this, I've just not made the choice to do so until now.

Welcome 2010!!

I couldn't be happier for the beginning of a new year! After all the turmoil in our lives, Alex and I are finally gainfully employed IN THE SAME CITY!! What an incredible feeling to be back on our feet and enjoying life again! I'm looking forward to what this year holds in health and happiness for everyone! So 2010, I welcome you with open arms and an open heart!!

The start of a new year, brings on the start of a new running season! Yay! I'm beginning to plan out my schedule for the year and a full marathon is on the agenda! Which one has yet to be determined. I'm filling out the lottery paperwork for the NYC marathon, but I figure that is a long shot and we will see if I get the luck of the draw. Rochester recently added an April 1/2 marathon (Flower City Challenge), so I'm planning to aim for that run in a few months. If NYC doesn't pan out this year, I'll still have time to register for Philly or Niagara Falls. I'd LOVE to run Chicago, but I don't want to register and then crazily get chosen in the NYC lottery. Maybe I'll register for Chicago and plan NYC for next year? Sorry, just thinking out loud......I have a few more weeks before Chicago opens registration, so I can figure it out.

This running season will once again begin with Johnny's Runnin' of the Green on St. Patrick's Day. Always a fun run with a huge turnout.....and of course a great way to begin a day of consumption!

On another note, the start of the new year, brings the beginning of the Body Transformation Program at Gold's Gym. I love this program and look forward to all the positive changes I will see with the support of the training team at Gold's. I couldn't have found a more positive and encouraging environment to work on my physical self. So, I have a lot of work to do over the next few months. I've allowed the stress of the past few months to negatively affect my eating and exercising habits. I desperately need to get back in touch with that side of myself.

Here I go, the start of a new year and the start of a new and improved ME!

Happy Holiday Workout!!

Last night I attended my final Last Chance Workout at Gold's Gym, where the trainer once again, kicked out butts!! We ran a lot as well as some circuit weights and a great deal of core training with the medicine balls! It felt amazing to work that hard in the gym and burn off calories before the upcoming holiday meals!

I also attended a cycling class this morning....taught by the same trainer.....and had an amazing class. I would highly recommend cycling, or spinning, classes to anyone who is working toward losing weight. I find the cycling classes to be huge calorie burners, and a place where you can really control how hard you work. I generally turn the resistance on the bike to high so I'm working to my fullest potential, but on days when I'm not feeling it, I can keep the resistance low and still get a decent workout. I would encourage anyone who hasn't tried cycling to get out there and check it out!!

Baby Steps

I finally decided to plow the driveway and head to the gym! OK, it wasn't that bad b/c my husband had already plowed 3 times, but the overnight snow forced me to pull out the snow blower before I could head out of the house.

I really wanted to head to the gym to get some running in and see how my body responds. The training schedule for San Diego begins in a month, so I need to make sure my body is ready for that level of running again. I did about 40 minutes on the elliptical and then headed over to the treadmill for the last 20 minutes. I ran for about 10 minutes in intervals and it felt good. I think it will be OK! I'm still not sure if Derek is on board yet......we talked about the schedule and we will make a decision about registering by the end of next month.

On another note, I got on the scale this morning and I'm down 5lbs over the past week! I'm feeling good and happy to see my injury weight beginning to disappear!

Last Chance #3

We were introduced to some new exercises last night that really focused on our core muscle group. The gym has some new weights called kettle bell weights which provided a kick butt arm, shoulder, and overall core workout! We also did a good amount of work with the medicine balls and the bosu, again, all focusing on our core. It was fantastic!! On Thursday we are going to work with the resistance bands and the weight bars for a different kind of workout.

On another note, I put together an 18 week training schedule for Derek and myself to prepare for San Diego.......and I haven't heard from D since then? I wonder, did I scare the crap out of him.....

Last Chance Workout #2

I went to my Bootcamp style Last Chance Workout tonight and wow......I was either going to throw up or start crying! It was super hard but I loved it!! Once again we started with a cardio warmup that included sprints, but this time we also rotated the sprints with jumping jacks, squat thrusts, and high knees. We then went to circuit weights and core training and ended with abs. I think the "round the clock" push-ups hit me the hardest. Ugh! They came about 45 min into the workout and were killer, but totally worth it! I felt fantastic after the workout! I'm actually excited to go to the Tuesday workout now that I have completed grad classes for the semester.

Gold's also began advertising their Body Transformation this week. I grabbed a flier and will be signing up soon! It starts Jan. 14 and I can't wait!!

Last Chance Workout @ Gold's Gym

Tonight began this month's Last Chance Workout program where we meet twice a week for a 1 hour, 10 person, bootcamp type training with Paige, one of the gym trainers. It was fantastic!! She absolutely kicked our butts all over the place, starting with some sprints and ending with some core ab work. We started with a warm-up of jogging and sprints and then moved to a circuit training type workout where we spent 1 minute at each of 10 stations. Each station had 3 different exercises, so we rotated through the full circuit 3 times. We then moved into about 10 minutes of ab work. I can't wait until the next session!! It definitely works for me and I look forward to getting back in shape! It's amazing how quickly one can get out of shape.

Day Two...& other fun news!

I was back at the gym again this morning for my Cardio Interval class that I love and have missed so much over the past few months! I did everything very low impact, no jumping and I generally balanced myself on my left leg for upper body stuff, but I still got a very good workout! I'm taking Guinness to the park later and that will round out my exercise for today. I'm feeling good, but I'm still going to take it easy, I don't want to re injure it or need surgery!

Last night, I had a great time relaxing with a night to myself as Alex is in Gettysburg with his brother, nephew, and nieces. They are all very interested in spirits and ghost hunting, so what better place to do some searching! They are also lucky to be down there right now b/c the Travel Channel show Most Haunted did their first ever live ghost hunt in Gettysburg last night. They have scheduled a ghost walk for tonight in the same house the show was in last night! I can't wait to hear all about it! Judy, I will write about all the details just for you, I know how much you love this stuff!!

In other great news....the Red Sox beat Tampa Bay last night in the first game of the ALS!! Whoo Hoo!! Go Sox! Game two is tonight, let's hope they keep the momentum going!

Quick shout out to a soon to be birthday boy......tonight is my friend Jeff's big 30th bash!! He turns the big 3-0 tomorrow and we will surely be doing a midnight toast to welcome him to the 30's club!! Congrats Jeff!!