Frustration Ensues

It has been so hard to stick to my guns about the workout plan. Working 11 hour days, 4 days a week has proven to be very difficult. On the bright side, I have begun using My Fitness Pal again, figuring that if I can't make the time to work out, I can at least keep track of my calorie consumption and keep that to a minimum - reducing my chances of at least putting on any more weight and body fat. I did manage the first bike ride of the season last week, and that was so awesome. I've really missed getting out there, feeling the wind, being out in nature, and having so much fun that it barely even feels like a workout. I was off work from the hospital today and still went into the office to see four clients. It gave me a little taste of what to expect when I begin working there full-time, and I can already tell I'm going to really enjoy it. One thing I will have to definitely keep up though is my social life. Not talking to anyone all day (besides clients, anyway) then coming straight home can become rather cumbersome and depressing if I don't watch it. This is why I plan to continue working a few shifts a month at the hospital, not only to keep my name and face out there for referrals, but to also continue with the social aspect of the job - as I do really enjoy the people that I work with. The idea is also to be out of work in enough time to work out - or even go in late enough so that I have time in the morning. Currently, I work at the hospital from 7:30 - 3:00, then see clients until 6:30, putting me home at 7:00. The problem has always been my ability to say "no" to new clients, and continuously overloading myself on the schedule. For instance, I already have a full schedule next week (including one person scheduled Friday which I NEVER do) and I have three more people on the cancelation list, which basically means if I have any cancelations, those spots should be filled with at least one of the three people I have on standby. This means no going home early for me, which of course means less time to do the things that I SHOULD be doing, like working out. In any case, what I would like to do is take the bike to the office a few days a week and ride for at least an hour or so straight after work. That way I'm already out there, I have no excuses, and I feel physically productive for the day. Unfortunately, a part of me somewhat knew that this could happen when I began the Insanity program. :( This certainly doesn't mean I've given up entirely on the workouts - I still plan to complete the DVD's when I can. I just don't think it's going to be feasible for me to do them consistently, and especially not the six days a week that it requires.

No Pain, No Gain. Right??

I'm just about 24 hours post my first Mudathlon and my arms are so freakin' sore! But... a good sore. The kinda sore where you feel like you got something done. Alicia and I have been talking for years about doing a fun, obstacle-course type of race and we finally signed up for this one a few months ago. The Mudathlon, in particular, is a 5k race that advertises 40 obstacles. And although it was certainly a lot of fun (and VERY muddy), they were a little short on obstacles unless they counted every water-filled creek we had to jump across. It was a chilly morning (in the 50's), and had rained for the 24 hours preceeding this event, so it was sure to be an interesting race nonetheless. We met at 6:00 a.m., grabbed some breakfast, then headed to General Butler State Park about 45 minutes away. I'm not sure what got into us, but at some point one of us mentioned that it may be an even better race if we were a little "tipsy." Keep in mind, Alicia and I do like to partake of the occasional adult beverage, but have never done so immediately prior to a race - or at 7:00 a.m. for that matter. But, it sounded like a good idea at the time so we stopped off and each bought one of those new energy drinks that includes 6-8% alcohol by volume. Sitting in her nice, heated car before headed to the start, we drank our drinks, duct taped our shoes, donned the new, matching tank tops Alicia had bought us specifically for the race (Hey, even though we like to have muddy fun, we're still a little girly-girl like that), and headed out for what was sure to be a cold, sloppy, interesting mess. It was a fairly small start, with maybe 20 of us going out in our wave. The first mile mainly consisted of jumping over multiple creeks and repelling down small hills with the help of ropes. Seeing as how the rain really muddied up the path, it was extremely slick in some places, and it didn't take long for Alicia and I to both get good and messy. At one creek crossing, I was hesitant as it was a little further jump than I had expected, and the muddied banks provided enough slickness that one could easily bite the dust (or mud) once landing on the other side. With the help of a guy on the opposite bank however, I swiftly bounded across, grabbed hold of his hand, and was pulled to safety. Ah, success! We continued on to mile 2 and met up with another pack of people who also helped us through most of the obstacles. Jumping over large bales of hay, crawling along in the mud under plastic partitions, speed-sliding down a sheet of plastic into a pool of watery goodness, and climbing over walls - this was turning out to be all the fun I expected and more. Near the end of the mile however, we came across a tall obstacle in which you had to climb ropes to the top, and then climb back down via muddy, slick planks of wood on the other side. Now, I'm all about having fun, but the possiblility of slipping on one of the planks and falling to my death was too much for me to bear, and I walked around instead. I know, I know, call me a wuss - but I quite enjoy my limbs, my life, and the ability to walk. And no fun run is worth risking any of that. Maybe next time.... Regardless, we kept on til the end of the race, and were a couple of scratched up, wet, filthy, bruised, sore, tired messes by the end. It was definitely worth it, though. And the swag to this race was just awesome. For $80 we got an entry to the 5k, a shirt, beer coozie, glass mug, bandana, nice finishers medal, and a free burger and beer at the end. All in all, the race got two thumbs up for me, and I look forward to searching out more of these obstacle-style races in the future. Until that day comes, I will continue to move forward on my Insanity journey, and a healthier me!

Week 2 - re-do

Well, since I completely bonked last week I've decided to start week two all over again, and survived the second day so far. I must say, Pure Cardio is - by far - the hardest DVD out of the series. I mean, 15 minutes of ongoing high intensity cardio with no breaks?! Sheesh! It exhausts me but I still feel SO GOOD after :) (Re-reading that last sentence sounds pretty absurd considering I've completed so many marathons and triathlons. After all, 15 minutes of cardio seems like small potatoes in comparison, but I gotta say, the intensity in long-distance running is nothing like I get from this workout). Still, my diet is my worst enemy. I made some turkey chili last night and, although it's somewhat healthy, it leaves me feeling bloated and too full. We had a mexican buffet provided by the hospital for lunch today, and that wasn't exactly a smart choice either (topped off with three cookies - not good). Again, I feel that if I'm going to put this much work into this program I need to make more of an effort to control my cravings and food intake. I have always had such a hard time saying "no" to food when it's right in front of me. Especially when it's free and bad for me :/ I know I'm going to sound like a lot of my patient's here but, "Can't I just get a pill for that?"

Poor Odds

The odds were definitely stacked against me this week, and I will be re-starting Insanity tomorrow. I had a week of vertigo, doctors appointments, dishcrawl and Derby parties - needless to say the energy I put out this week was, by far, a lot less than the food I took in. And I gotta say, this weather is really doing a number on my mood as well. I mean, it's May 5th and it's 55 degrees outside. REALLY??? C'mon Mother Nature! So I haven't done jack smack all day long. I don't forsee any issues coming up in the near future, so my workout plan should not be hampered any further. Alicia and I have the Mudathlon this coming Saturday and I'm looking forward to all that crazy fun. However, the forecast is calling for rain - but that could only make things more interesting, right?