Time To Make A Change

I have decided to kick my own butt into gear and get myself healthier and fit!  Here is my plan (at least my rough draft...I am sure I will make changes as I think of them):

Quit smoking (last cigarette was June 2, 2012...yeah)
Pack my lunch every day for work
Go to the gym Monday/Wednesday/Friday for strength training
Run at least five days a week (Monday through Friday is ideal)
Cut back on the junk food
Keep track of my calories and exercise using the Lose It app on my phone and/or Nook Color

I generally work Wednesday through Sunday.  On Wednesdays, I will plan on running in the morning before work and then driving STRAIGHT to the gym after work to do my strength training.  On Fridays I work half days right now so I will drive straight to the gym, do my strength training and then do my run.  However if I start my run after I workout, I will just leave from the gym because every route that I have created has me running pass my gym.  I could make that my start/end point.

Besides wanting to get into better shape and be healthier, I want to work towards running a half marathon.  I do not want to do it for time, I just want to be able to complete one.  I want to be able to run the whole thing without stopping.  Even if I have to slow my pace just to be able to complete it, I will!  I have signed myself up for another 5K...and it is a color run!  It is August 12, 2012 at 9am in Seattle.  I know two people who have also signed up.  I cannot wait!  It is going to be a blast.  Now as for the half marathon, I am thinking that I will either aim for the half in Eugene or the Rock and Roll half in Seattle next Summer.

I plan on at least starting the running before work thing tomorrow morning so I am going to hit the sack and try and get some sleep!  Until next time!

Mondays...My Saturdays!

I feel great today!  Ran 3.34 miles this morning with my mom...well the first half mile or so and then I took off and left her in the dust.  I am just stoked that I did not get a side cramp this time!  Took me about 33 minutes this time.  I have got to get consistent since I have that 3.47 mile obstacle course on Saturday.

I started using this new app that I have on my Nook and my Droid called "Lose It".  It is a great app to track your food and exercise and the calories you consume and burn.  I have not really played around with it much so I am not sure if you can keep track of your water consumption.  It is pretty awesome that you can actually scan the barcode of the food you are eating and it will pull up all the nutritional information and then you do not have to insert it yourself!

Until next time!

Exhaustion Just Cannot Take Over

I am so tired but my mind just cannot seem to stop.  I am not really thinking about anything particular...oh wait...yes I am.  I smashed my head, right behind my ear, on a step on a plane this afternoon and somehow managed to not cry or vomit (but I really wanted to).  My boss told me to close up and clock out early so I did and managed to even get myself to the gym.  I was still seeing stars by the way.

I went for three reasons.

Reason #1:  I have only been to the gym three times and it was for my training sessions.  I am paying for it and I really need to start using it!

Reason #2:  I got this gym membership because my boss put the idea in my head.  I signed up.  Got him to sign up and I had not even gone to the gym at the same time as him (not my fault though because he goes when I am normally working).  Needless to say when he told me to close up and when he was going to the gym I had to go.

Reason #3:  I have to get some upper body strength and my running stamina back up because I have the Survivor Mud Run obstacle course in 10 DAYS!!!  Here was my little rant about it.

I really need to get into the gym at least three days a week to do strength training and then I seriously need to run on my own.  I have to run on the street because I run slower and not as far on the treadmill.  What I really need is to find some kind of practice obstacle course and work on it.

I think I am finally going to give in and try to get some sleep.  My head still hurts like crazy so I do not think I will be reading tonight even though I want to.  I guess I will just have to stick with watching "Daria".

Until next time!

Oh It Hurts So Good!

As long as I can manage to get up in the morning on Mondays I hit the gym for a class called Group Power.  For those of you who do not know what it is (and I did not almost a year ago), it is a strength training class using weights.  The instructor targets a different muscle group throughout an entire song and it is so much fun!  I must say that I did not like it the first time I tried it.  I tried it on a Monday night and followed it up with Zumba after.  I could not walk right for a week.  I swore up and down that I would never take that class again.  That was in March!  I just recently started taking the class again within the last month or so.  I just vowed to never do it before Zumba ever again!

I missed out last week because I was not feeling too well.  The morning instructor started a new routine last week and I am still feeling the change!  One of the new ones involved doing squats, lunges, squats, lunges, and squats.  We end the set by holding a weight to our chest and continue with a number of squats and leg raises.  I felt perfect all day Monday and woke up yesterday morning and I cannot even begin to explain how much my butt hurt.  It was even difficult to teach Zumba Gold last night but I managed to complete it and build a pretty good sweat considering it was the first time I taught it as a 35 minute class.

I started getting a little nervous today because it was the first time I was teaching my Zumba class at its new time and no one was there.  People finally started to trickle in.  I ended up with five amazing people!  It is much better than the one or two I normally get!  Plus two of them were newbies to Zumba!  It was great!  It was quick though!  30 minutes went by fast!  I told them that if they needed water to grab it and jump back in because with such little time I could not stop the music for water breaks.  My legs felt like jello by the time we were done.

I got my stuff ready for Group Power and the instructor that normally teaches in the morning was called in to cover for the evening instructor so I got to do her squats/lunges/squats/lunges/squats...again!  I thought my legs were going to fall off.  They were not happy with me at all!  After class I needed to get in another half hour or so of cardio in (because my 30 minute class just was not enough...and I did not have the energy to stay for the later Zumba class) so I hopped on one of the elliptical machines for 45 minutes.  Towards the end it just kind of popped into my head that I had not eaten anything all day and only consumed some water and a little bit of coffee.  Man.  I am exhausted!  I am going to finish watching Star Trek and then it is off to bed!

Until next time!