Friday, July 30, 2010

Day 80: one mile per ten days

I'm not sure why I feel like day 80 is a milestone more so than other days. But it seems like it should be. I'm 80 days deep, 20 days away from the big one.oh.oh.

I think I've become a lot more realistic about my fitness goals than I was when I first began. At the start of summer, I made a list of goals, including: lose 20 pounds, do something active every day and be able to run a 5 k. I haven't met any of those goals. But I have since crossed off the 20 and written in 10. I haven't lost much weight, but I have lost a lot of fat and really bulked up in muscle. My thighs are pretty sick right now. And my calves have some definitely defined muscles, as well. Overally, I just feel better about how I look. In other words, I can stand to look at myself naked in the mirror without cringing. And my clothes all look SO much better. I honestly didn't realize how awful I looked until I set up a 360 degree mirror here and was able to see my backside. Oh. God. It's shocking to see how something might look fab from the front and sag from the back. I apologize for all of you who had to endure the sight of my back fat.

Anyway, I'm not super ecstatic about my results, but I'm also not unhappy with them. I took a few days off. I lost a few pounds. And while I'm still not a good runner, I'm definitely more in shape than I have been in a long time. It's a good feeling. So, greetings, Day 80...and here's to the next 800,000 days of pushing myself one more mile. With a few days off in between, of course.

That being said, I'll admit that I again took a day off. Sorry, Thursday.

Today is a new dawn, a new day. I went from work to the gym. But boy oh boy was it absolutely flawless outside. I knew I had to get some outdoor time in.

I started off with weights and was again able to do 10 in a row of the army curls. Then I did a buch of weight machines and did two extra machines from my normal routine. I even did a butt blasting weight machine, in which you lean forward and rest your weight on one leg in a squat position while extending your other leg backward against a set amount of weight.

From there, I did 2 miles on the treadmill. I'm not gonna lie, I was super proud of my work out today. I walked .5 miles and then ended up running .5 miles - which might not sound like a lot, but it's a definite accomplishment for me. I could have done more. I can, with confidence, say that I have the ability to run a mile. And it doesn't really have anything to do with being in shape - because I know that I am right now - the thing preventing me from running the most is my calf pain. No amount of stretching or warming up has seemed to do anything for me. I just end up having to work through it. After the first mile, I walked for .3, ran .1, walked .2, ran .2 and walked .2

After that, I did my usual mile on the elliptical and then did 20 reps of side ab crunches before heading back to my apartment to break out my bicycle!

Oh, sweet reunion! I haven't ridden since last Thursday, and it felt super sweet to be back cruisin the pavement in the gorgeous summer sun. I did two laps around Ring Road and a lap and a half around the Dell for a total of 5 miles before retiring.

Total for the day = 8 miles
One mile for every ten days of exercise.
***

Morsels

Breakfast: 4 seasoned bagel chips. 1 plum. iced coffee.
Lunch: a hearty serving of pasta with mushrooms, onions, red peppers, tofu & pesto.
Dinner: a bowl of my spinach/chicken/tomato/onion/glazed pecan/raspberry vinaigrette salad. a hunk of italian bread with margarine. 22 oz of water.
After dinner: Shocktop beer. And lots of it.

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