Lawd Lawd Month II is hawd!

Month 2 Day 3- I can barely move my arms this morning......My husband had to cut my steak last night. Wow! Four different types of pushups. What masochist sat around and invented different kinds of pushups? All I know is I never want to be a Hindu if that's the pushups they have to do! PU as I like to call them has always been my "Achilles Heal" so that is why I know they are important, but it was all I could do to get them done. I am not making it all the way through the reps, but I'll get there.
But.....as in all things in my life I do have a funny story. There is a surprise benefit to muscle failure that I never knew before that I would like to share. My husband Rick was in the kitchen putting together our dinner while I was in the living room doing the strength workout. I really was struggling......I was groaning and (blush) moaning alot. Rick peeked his head around the door and gave me the suggestive Groucho Marx eyebrow raise and then went back in the kitchen. I did the rest of the strength workout and moved on to the bonus round and core/ab and the groaning and (blush) moaning increased. Once again there's Groucho. So when I finally got done with abs and core I went in to the kitchen and said "What!!!!????" Rick shyly smiled and said "That was really hot, like $24.95 a minute hot."
Who knew?

Starting Month 2

Month 2 Day 1 It's really amazing to think that we are already 1/3 done. I am absolutely ecstatic about the progress I am making. I am almost to my weight loss goal (granted I am lucky that it I didn't have much to lose, but oh trying to drop the weight has been oh so pesky) and I can fit in pants that haven't fit in two winters so my "dimensions" must be changing too. We are eating really wonderfully and although Rick isn't doing the project, he is supporting me and eating and exercising regularly as well. I can see big changes in him too. But my big Yippeee is my running. I am still not fast, but Sunday I ran the whole neighborhood in 50 minutes and had some kick left in me when I was done to do a Rocky dance when I got back home! For the longest time I thought that running would be the thing that I tried so hard to master and just wouldn't ever be able to. I don't think that way now. I am doing my intervals today and can't wait. I don't see slow or hard days as failure any more. I see them as part of learning.

A girlfriend and I went to see "Movin Out" Sunday. It was really fantastic. If you don't know about the play it is Billy Joel's music choreographed by Twyla Tharpe. Not a word was spoken, but through the music and dance you definitely got the story. Took me back to my "Big Hair" days.

It is going to be a theater week again this week as we are finally going to get to see Rob Johansen in "To Kill a Mockingbird". If you have never gotten to see Rob in anything, you really should. He brings his wonderful spirit to anything he does. I can't wait!

Good luck to all starting Month 2.

Forecast: Sunny, but Windy

Week 4 day 3 I am on call this evening, so I left work early enough to do my run in the neighborhood before my call shift started. It has been a gorgeous, sunny day, but deceptively windy. We have some pretty decent long hills in the neighborhood and the wind stood me straight up a couple of times even though I was trying to run with my head kinda tucked. I made it though - a decent 40 minute run. I came home to a warm home and a hot cup of tea. Can't beat that. I can't say that I feel 100% charged and ready to go for next week, so I think tomorrow will be just a fun day for me. I am meeting some friends for lunch and I think that will be the extent of my exertion. I will be at home doing the P90X yoga class on Saturday morning. Enjoy Patrick's class for all of you that go.

R-E-C-O-V-E-R-Y

Week 4 Day 1 - Wow I cannot believe I didn't get one post in last week. It really was a hectic week for me. Work is ramping up after the holiday and new year break and my husband was gone! Anyway, it was a fantastic BTWG week. I had really solid workouts and ended up uping my weights a bit more and adding 5 reps to my core workout by the end of the week. I had a great time running with fellow yogis and BTWG participants on Sunday.
That being said, I am so ready for this recovery week. And aren't we lucky that we will have some really unseasonably nice weather to walk/run in? I feel that sun is like a filled prescription! I looked over the next month strength/toning (Holy Sh*t!) I think that it will be a butt kicker and make me humble again. I was feeling pretty full of myself by the end of week 3. But I'll be ready.
Best things about this project so far:
Cutting my caffeine and not whining about it anymore
Getting back to the joys of cooking with my husband - he's just my best buddy
Sticking to a workout routine and making real progress
The wonderful people I am sharing this journey with . Seriously you guys are just too cool. ;>)

Stumbling into Week 3

Week 3 - Day 1 I really enjoyed my rest day yesterday. I got a little extra sleep, planned this week, even went for a massage. If you have never had a massage, you really should. I don't do this often enough, but it is one of the true great pleasures in life that is good for you, too :) As it turns out my shoulders were a mess and needed lots of work.
Now on to week 3 - I really need to get organized. I woke up this morning feeling really overwhelmed. I looked around at my house that sorely needs my attention and decided that I really needed to take some time and get at least get one big thing done to feel like I've finished something. And now, writing this I realize why I feel this way. It is because I am involved in a long project. This one is not work related, but I get this overwhelming I don't get anything done feeling anytime I start a long involved project. So, it's time to put things in perspective, pull myself up by my boot straps (that is if I can find my boots in this mess!) and get on with it. As Nike says "Just do it!" Today my frig gets a bath. We have been shoving so many raw veggies in there that I am afraid that it will explode! Now, I feel better :) Have a good third week everyone.

The Longer Run

Week 2 Day 6 Seeing the sun shine today was really wonderful. What a great way to celebrate Sunday and look back on that awesome get together last night. It was easy to see that Alison and Ellen put alot of thought into the planning and the guests put alot of thought into the dishes they made. What I loved the best is that we were so busy talking and getting to know one another that all else, food and music were just great back drops. And damn, we're a bunch of good cooks. I do think we have the makings of a cook book. How fun would that be?
I did a 45 minute run on the Monon today. I was lucky enough to be joined by a great friend and fellow yoga enthusiast. Although I am alot slower than he is, he was kind enough to keep pace with me and encourage me along the way. I took a couple of short walk breaks along the way, but all in all it was very rewarding. On the way back I actually picked up my pace. Kinda like a horse when he is in sight of the barn! That would be me. But at least I still had some "kick" in me.
Hope everyone enjoyed their Super Bowl outings if they had them. I am a HUGE football nut (anyone who knows me knows that) and really appreciated the fact that this was a great matchup albeit not the teams I would have liked to see playing.
Thanks a ton to Alison and Ellen. It really was a great party.