Month: October 2018

Ten Miles

Yesterday evening practically begged for a good run: it was overcast, so the sun wouldn’t be beating down on me; the temperature was much cooler than it has been; and there was a 0% chance of rain.  Oh, and I just got some wireless headphones I was dying to try out!  So I laced up my running shoes, went to a park with a walking/running trail, and got to work.

This run was much, much better than last Monday’s, when I felt like a zombie and just wanted to curl up in the grass and never move again.  Last night I covered ten miles!  My goal had been nine, but when I finished that and still felt a little left in the gas tank, I figured I’d go one more mile.

Run 10 Miles

I stretched at the park, again when I got home, then took a nice, warm shower, but I am still a little stiff today.  My legs are still wondering what the hell I did to them.  Stiff or not, I am practically strutting like a peacock today, I am so proud of my run last night.  Ten miles!  Do you know how long it’s been since I was able to run distances like that?

I was disappointed on Sunday night, when my husband and I were ready to head out, and a jacket I grabbed from the coat closet didn’t fit.  It was a size medium, and I’m not there yet.  I don’t know why I even tried it on, knowing I am not down to a medium yet.  At first I let it bother me, but then I told myself to knock it off.  That jacket not fitting yet does not negate all of the progress I have made.

I am slowly adding items back into my wardrobe.  Today I am wearing a top I haven’t worn in a very long time, because it was too tight.  Now it fits just fine.  The pants I am wearing today used to be snug in the waist, and now they are comfortable.  And I know that jacket is going to fit again eventually, too.

Weigh-In, Fights, and Date Night

I was hoping to reach my next mini-goal at Saturday’s weigh-in, but alas, it was not meant to be: I lost 1.4 pounds, not the 2 pounds I needed for my goal.  I know I should be  happy with a loss, and I know 1.4 pounds is not a bad weigh-in, but I am still very disappointed about it.  I feel like I worked really hard last week for a barely-there loss.  I mean, I did Insanity TWICE, damnit!  I deserved a bigger loss!  (*arms folded, pouty face, stomping foot*)

I know there was room for improvement last week, too.  The rest day was okay, but going out to eat wasn’t the greatest idea on a non-workout day.  I wasn’t as diligent about my food log last week, either.  I am going to tighten it up this week and shoot for 2 pounds again.

Yesterday morning, my husband and I bickered at the breakfast table.  Ever have one of those arguments that later, you don’t even understand why you got so angry?  It seems so silly and stupid now.  I hate fighting in front of the kids, so I stood up and left the table.  I changed clothes, did my workout, and headed outside to get some yard work done.

I wasn’t outside long when my younger stepson came outside to help, and then I could hear my husband and the other kids in the front, putting up Halloween decorations.  (Our decorating was rudely interrupted by the hurricane, when we had had to take everything down so it wouldn’t get ruined).

My husband and I love Halloween, and each year we add to our decorations stash.  I passed by him a few times as I lugged armfuls of tree limbs to the curb, and I could feel him looking at me, but we didn’t say anything to each other.  As I returned to the curb with more branches, I watched him, patiently but unsuccessfully trying to pose a skeleton in the front yard while two of the kids made the skeleton dance and worked it jaw to make it look like it was singing, and I had to smile.  Was I really going to let a ridiculous tiff get in the way of joining in the fun?

I came over to him with my hands on my hips, and he waved me off, saying loudly, “Go find something else to do!”, but he was laughing, and just like that, the dumb little fight was over.  I went inside to round up the spider web and other decorations that got returned to the boxes before the hurricane, and we had fun finishing up the front yard.

I felt bad, though.  I hate, hate, hate any kind of disagreement in front of the kids.  I guess it’s unrealistic to think we’ll never fight in front of the kids, but I still don’t like it.  I know they are forced to listen to a lot of fighting and arguing in their other home, and I like knowing we are a refuge from that.  I don’t want to add to the conflict and negativity and straight-up craziness they already deal with.  At least it didn’t last long, and soon we were in the yard, putting up Halloween decorations, joking around and laughing.

Last night, my husband surprised me and asked if I wanted to go out for the evening.  After the kids were picked up, we went out on a date night and enjoyed ourselves.  Maybe we should argue more often, ha ha…just not in front of the kids!

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Rest Day

It’s hard for me to take rest days.  I know how easy it is for me fall off the wagon, and one rest day could quickly turn into two days, three days, then weeks.  I panic at the idea of not working out and opening up the possibility of losing my momentum.  But after the dismal run on Monday, I felt like my poor body was frantically trying to tell me something, so I gave it a much-needed rest on Tuesday.

Instead of working out, I went out to dinner with my husband and my stepson.  (I stuck to unsweet tea and a chicken salad.  Rest day didn’t mean pig-out day!) Both of them are certified smart-asses, and they were raring to go that night.  I was laughing so hard at the two of them that I was sure we would be asked to leave.  It was a lot of fun.

Last night, the break was over, and I did an Insanity workout.  I was sweaty and wiped out afterward, but I added on a 10 minute ab workout for good measure.  Today my shoulders are sore, which surprised me, but then I remembered the move with push-ups that move side to side.  Yeah, they are just as much fun as they sound (withering sarcasm from someone who despises push-ups).

Tonight I will hit the weights, then tomorrow will be an early morning workout, since we are heading to my younger stepson’s football game tomorrow night!  I will be disappointed when the season is over.  I really enjoy watching him play.

I am kicking around the idea of doing an Insanity workout tomorrow morning…I’m not sure I have the energy for all that mess so early in the morning!  Then again, maybe pushing myself through a crazy tough workout before I’m completely awake is actually quite clever 🙂

7308-Workout-Funny-Good-Morning-Quotes-Facebook-Whatsapp-Status
My plan
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What might really happen instead 🙂

“Only” Five Miles

I headed out for a distance run last night, and in hindsight, I don’t know what I was thinking.  I laced up my shoes, plugged in my headphones, and took off, apparently completely forgetting several crucial things: sleep deprivation from a freaking hurricane; hours of manual labor each day, cleaning up the yard; stress jacked up through the roof; and sporadic and not-the-healthiest eating because the power had been out for three days.

Not surprisingly, my run started out sluggish.  Not to worry!  I’ll catch my second wind once I get into a groove.  Okay, maybe not. Ummm, know what, maybe I’d rather curl up under that tree over there and take a snooze…

I forced myself to keep going, and my body rebelled.  You know when you blow up a balloon and pinch the ends closed, then suddenly let go, and all the air whooshes out of the balloon with that funny *pfffffft* sound and quickly deflates?  Well, last night I was that balloon.  All of the energy drained out of me in a rush (thankfully without the sound effects, though, which would have been embarrassing).  The last two weeks, from illness to a hurricane, caught up with me and said, “Lady, just stop this nonsense and sit the hell down.”

I fought it at first and pushed out one more horrible, torturous mile, then slapped some sense into myself.  What was I doing?  What was the point to forcing myself to run when my body said it couldn’t?  I was just teaching myself to hate running and likely bringing on an injury.

I finally stopped, cooled down, stretched, and went home.  I was disappointed, because I had wanted to cover at least 9 miles.  My husband asked how I did, and I grumbled “Five miles.”  He smiled in confusion, not sure why I was upset, and said “You did great.”  I told him I had wanted 9 miles, and he replied simply, “You did five miles.”

Yes, I did.  I knew I was being silly.  When I first started running again, five miles was unfathomable.   And it’s not like I will never run those 9 miles.  Just not right now.

I took a shower, packed my lunch for the next day, grabbed a blanket, and snuggled up next to my husband to relax, rest, and just enjoy being with him and my stepson for the rest of the evening.  It was definitely what I needed, and the miles will be waiting for me, when I’m ready.

Hurricane Weigh-In

I skipped weigh-in two weekends ago because I had been sick, and I just didn’t feel up to facing the scale, knowing I couldn’t put in the effort that I wanted to that week (and because I already felt bad enough!)  Then, this past week, Hurricane Michael decided to rock our world.  Between our power being out for several days, the gym being closed, the house being hot as hell, and the sidewalks not safe to run on yet, I wasn’t able to do a formal workout for a few days.

I didn’t want to skip another weigh-in on Saturday, though.  That is a recipe for disaster and weight gain!  I decided to bite the bullet, weigh in, face the number, and just move on.

I sighed, stepped onto the scale, cringed…and saw that I had somehow, some way, managed to lose 2 pounds instead of gain!

One thing I had stressed over was not being able to hit the gym, but don’t worry, hurricanes come with built-in workout plans.  Our yard ended up without a single square inch not covered in tree limbs, branches, heaps of leaves, or other debris.  Cutting up fallen trees, hauling branches to the curb, raking up the mess…obviously those are all pretty good calorie burners.

Our yard still isn’t completely cleaned up, if anyone would like to test the calorie-burning theory and rake for a few hours.  Any takers?  Anyone?  No?  Well, it was worth a shot!

This week, our power is back on; my gym opened back up today; and I am ready to take on this week full-force and drop 2 more pounds.

Yesterday was pushing 90, but my husband and I are stubborn and worked in the yard longer than we really should have, red-faced, sweaty, gasping for breath, covered in bruises and scratches from hauling tree limbs.  As we passed each other in the yard, though, I had to smile.  I am beyond grateful that despite the mess, our house suffered no damage.  None of us got injured.  My stepson, my husband, and I were in a hot, humid house with no power for 3 days, and we didn’t have the first argument, making the best of it with jokes and by taking care of each other.

My husband and I shot smart-ass comments at each other each time we passed in the yard, back and forth to the curb, dragging tree limbs or clutching piles of branches, making each other laugh.  We collapsed on the tailgate of his truck, draining water bottles, and made plans for dinner while I joked with him about a hole that got torn in his shorts, telling him he was trying to be hip and cool with ripped-up pants.

It wasn’t fun, and I don’t look forward to the next storm or power outage, or stressing over a tree crashing through the roof onto our heads.  But we checked on our neighbors, and they asked if we needed anything.  We shared what we had with each other to get through.  We made the best of it and appreciate what we have even more.  I suppose if I have to ride out hurricanes and storms, I can’t think of anyone else I would rather ride them out with!

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