Map My Run

In the spirit of moving more I walked home from work today. I wanted to see how long my route is so I signed up for mapmyrun.com and added the first walk to my training log. Woohoo! I like interactive tools so maybe this will help me to get off my butt more often. I even got in a little window shopping on Main.

Training: The Ultimate Challenge

Week 4 is drawing to a close and the number on the scale is slowly shrinking. Dan has been torturing me with lunges and various other hamstring exercises - oh, the burning… He says my pain tolerance must be pretty high because I haven’t complained yet. Apparently I know I’m in trouble if he brings out the whistle.

Dan gave me a challenge on Tuesday. He said if I can lose 20lbs in the last three weeks (which is possible, provided you’re healthy) he will put me on one of his billboards and continue to train me until I’m under 140. I told him that the last time I weighed that little I was probably 14 but he seems pretty convinced that it’s possible. So, I’m trying my hardest. I’m eating a lot of fruit, drinking a lot of water and most meals consist of a LOT of spinach. I’m pretty pumped about this and provided I can stand spinach and chicken for the next 2.5 weeks I should be ok.

Training: Abs, abs, and oh yeah, more abs

So last night’s training session was particularly brutal although, surprisingly, today I feel pretty good. Dan came over at 6pm and immediately told me I wasn’t going to like that day’s session. I asked why not and he told me it was because we were going to be doing 1000! sit-ups. I thought he was joking but it turns out he wasn’t. So, for the next 45 minutes we did various different ab exercises. I thought I was doing pretty well but at around 700 my legs were burning and my muscles were exhausted. I made it through though and I’m pretty proud of myself. Frankly I’d rather be doing 1000 sit-ups than going running but I don’t think that will fly with Dan.

One of the only bad things I’ve discovered so far is that I had set my expectations way too high. It’s now been three weeks and while I think I’m getting stronger, I haven’t noticed any outward changes. I think I look pretty much the same as when I started which is a little disappointing. I know I shouldn’t have expected to become lean overnight but I had all these visions of losing 3 dress sizes and having my after picture be like one you see on those diet commercials. Before was saggy and schlubby and I wanted the after to be hot and ripped. Somehow, I doubt I’m going to achieve that in six weeks but I’m going to continue to work hard at it.

Training: Week Two

I’m halfway into week two of training and feeling pretty good about it. I haven’t noticed any changes yet but Dan said it will probably take a few weeks. Saturday we went for our first run and it sucked. I was tired from the Run for Light which was the night before and didn’t have a lot of energy in me. Monday the nutritionist came and asked me questions about what I eat, what I crave, hate, etc. She also looked in the fridge and cupboards and said that overall she was pretty impressed by the food we eat. Our problem is portion control and hopefully with the personalized 30 day meal plan she is developing we’ll be able to fix that problem. Then Dan showed up and we did the regular strength training and he really made me work hard. We incorporated some exercises using a big exercise ball and did a lot of ab work. By the time he left I wasn’t feeling too hot and was certain that I was going to end up throwing up. Thankfully, after I soaked in the tub for a bit and A. got some food into me I felt much better. Yesterday we went running again and it was much better than Saturday. We went to a track at a nearby school and did laps. Ran for approximately 2mins, walked 1min times 6. It was harder than I remembered it being last year but at least I managed to finish. After that we did some sprinting exercises where we jogged a bit and sprinted for 10 meters times 10. That was a lot harder than I expected. Even if I end up not losing a ton of weight/inches I’ll be happy with getting more muscle definition and generally toning up. 4.5 more weeks to go!

Training: Day Two

I’ve had two one-hour sessions so far and I’m already paying for it. I have never sweat so much in my life or worked so hard. I know that if this was a gym membership and I had to get there under my own steam I would have given up already. Luckily (and unluckily) for me I can’t. We did my weight and measurements yesterday and frankly, I’m disgusted with myself. The fact that I have to post these numbers on the Z95 website for all to see is definitely a motivation to do really well and shed the pounds. But I hurt - it has never been so hard to stand up. My legs hurt, my shoulders are sore and my butt is killing me. Personally, I think trainers take a little bit of pleasure in seeing their clients suffer. I really hope that all of this pays off in the long run and that I can continue doing the exercises long after Trainer Dan has left. Dan told me to find something I like about the training and think about that. He also said that some people can trick their minds into thinking the pain is good rather than bad. I’m not at that point yet but I am liking the exercises. Yes, they are hard and yes, sometimes I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish but I always do. I like seeing my muscles work in ways they haven’t in years and knowing that I still have some strength left under all the padding. Now I really need to cut down on my portion sizes and hope for the best.

Slightly embarassing...

but if it means I lose some weight and get in shape for summer, so be it.

Z95 (a local radio station) is putting on a contest called Operation: Swimsuit where the winner gets to train 5 days a week for 6 weeks with a personal trainer and I am one of the three finalists! I'm sending out a plea that you all follow this link, check out my hideous picture and vote for me (I'm C.) I would really, really like to win this thing and I need all the help I can get. Tell everyone you know to go to the website and vote!

**UPDATE**
I WON!!! Thank you for all of your support. Check back here for progress reports.