Daily Weigh In: 196.8

Nutrition
- Slice of pumpkin bread
- 'nana & plain non-fat yogurt
- soy burger on pita w/cauliflower, mayo, mustard and cherry tomatoes
- plum
- 2 'nanas w/natty peanut butter
- 7 ginger slices

Water – 2.5 liters

Vitamins/Supplements - Nope

Training
45 mins elliptical - 2.39 miles
45 mins treadmill - 2.25 miles

Total cardio mins: 90
Total miles: 4.64

********

Man I spent most of today, tending to my sites. Their like plants, I always feel if I neglect them, well, traffic will die. But it was more than that feeling since I was still updating most of them in spite of the madness, but behind the scenes...lawdhavemercy, talk about email. One site, ONE, had over 1800 emails and that's not including spam.

Granted I do have 1500 or so close online buddies , ok more like 52 , Still. That much email was insane. I spent most of the afternoon getting that taken care of. I also updated my podcast, my training journal, and my pudge pic blog.

Made a few buttons for the newest peeps on the fitroll, charged up my iPod...oh and got in 90 mins in the gym clocking a bit over 4 miles thankyouverymuch...despite the fact that the treadmill freaking tried to KILL me and I so was not in the mood to go this AM, but I went and I'm glad.

Picture it, it was minutes after I uploaded the podcast and I was sitting in front the 'puter licking my I'm-so-fat-I'm-almost-200-lbs!-wounds like a cat trying to clean itself...

Today I did battle w/the elliptical machine and all I can say is holy moly, I bow down to those of you who can wrestle w/that thingamabob for an hour.

It was my first day @ Golds. I wanted to be there on time, as soon as it opened the doors @ 9 AM, I'm such a teacher's pet. The goal was originally to get in a solid 60 mins on the treadmill, but when I woke up this AM I decided to use today to test out the cardio machines, doing enough mins on each machine they have so that I can end the morning w/60 mins from all.

There were about 5 other people ahead of me, and I got there @ 9:05, showoffs!, in Cardio Alley, I climb aboard the elliptical. A girl was behind me. I observed her gait and gave it a go.

Nothing.

Ohhhh…gotta turn it on first.

Um…it was already on.

Back of neck is getting hot…cheeks feel warm.

Stepping on it made the lights come on.

Whew.

I went for Fat Burn, entered my weight (ugh!), minutes and age. Lippy told me my target ♥ rate is 122. Obakaybee and we were off.

Except that we weren't.

I fumbled around w/it.

Nothing.

The minutes would tick by, but then the machine would pause itself.

What the deuce?

Finally I gave up, @ this point, I'm sure if I were any other color but dark brown, the back of my neck and cheeks would be bright red.

To go along w/my grub, now that I'm ensconced in suburbia and will be faithfully attending the Big Girls gym (ie the Y) here's my workout routine. One of the downsides of driving to the gym is, it doesn't open till way later than I'm used to going. That throws me off a bit. But, I found a way to make up for it. I'll still wake up @ my usual insane AM, now I'll do weights @ home in the morning. Which works out pretty good since doing PM weights in a hot apartment was not cute. @ all.

First I do 10 minutes of stretching/yoga. Then I do 15 minutes of arms/abs and the next day buns/legs. Finally I head to the gym and do 45-60 minutes of fat burning cardio. By fat burning, I mean I keep my ♥ rate in the 140-155 bpm range. I'll end it w/a mini jump rope challenge. Starting w/25 jumps and each week adding 25. By the end of 8 weeks, I hope to jump 200 jumps 7 days a week. Future boxing workout, here I come.

4 afternoons a week, I head back to the gym and do 60 mins of cardio. This time more intense, keeping my ♥ rate in the 160-170 range. B/c I get crazy bored crazy fast, I broke it into 20 min blocks, elliptical, bike and stairclimber...hee…yes I am totally showing off now that I have so many toys to play with.

I do the PM thang M/T and Th/F. Wed is my night @ the movies.

I'll follow this routine, in conjunction w/my current eating plan, for the next 8 weeks. Then I'll start a new training block and eating plan based on where I'm @ and how I feel.

What about the weekends?

In recent months I've been contacted by a range of interesting people which always makes me wonder, "Dude, how'd you find my site!?!?"...anyhoo, I just got a note that AOL is having a Beach-Ready Boot Camp. On it you can find streaming workout videos. And while my workout schedule is quite booked up w/various challenges and whatnot, I almost peed myself when I read this part:

former professional boxer Michael Olajide, Jr. will teach you some boxing moves and jump rope routines to give you a sleek physique for the beach.

I recently started hunting for jump rope routines as I wrote up a rough draft of the next 3 weeks worth of workouts. Once I complete that block, the final 2 blocks are gonna be hell. If I can get Michael's routines added to the mix, my hell just got that much hotter.

Ah yes…these are exciting times in the Renee corporation. Quarter 1 has ended, the 4 week challenge has ended, some lbs have vacated the premises. A new quarter, which takes me thru Spring into early Summer, has began. Another challenge is on tap and every exercise routine I'm doing is showing increases across the board.

As w/most things I do, it's not for the faint of heart but I made a public pledge to kick my own ass from now till the end of June, so I can't slow down now. By the way, I'm revising the original goal. I planned to be @ 179 by the end of June, now I'm going for 175, it's still a modest 1lb loss per week from now to then but w/going over my 4lbs in 4 weeks last month, I'm a bit ahead of the game. Gotta keep it challenging over @ headquarters.

Firstly a brief recap: Q1 started lackluster, nosedived to rockbottomville by the middle and started making a turn in the right direction towards the end. By the final 30 days I was a bit all over the place as I was solely concerned w/getting my workouts done by any means necessary. Sure I had a plan I was following but not strictly. More times than not, I'd find myself doubling up a missed routine or "making up" a day. But it got done and left me some energy to focus on going to bed early so I could wake up @ insane AM and get my cardio done in the morning.

In Q2 I'm going back to perfection, but not in a rigid way. I just want be more consistent about doing my cardio in the AM. If I need to, now that I've gotten over my fear, I can run in the PM. I also want to keep eating cals reigned in the 1500-1600 range. More on food later this week or next week.

Q2 will also be emotionally stressful. I'm going to see my momma in a few weeks, My auntie is moving, I'm getting ready to move, a few holidays will be thrown in for good measure oh and the heat, the #!^%$ hotness, of the ATL has returned, BUT, I am focused. I have my eyez on a larger prize and I made a pledge I damn well intend to keep.

That said, let's take a look @ what I have in store for Q2 to melt away the fat.

My my my, lookit this informative tidbit I found over at the wonderfullllllllll health & fitness blog, fatfighterblogs.com.

"People only need to walk up to 12 miles per week or for about 125 to 200 minutes per week to improve their heart health," said the lead author Brian Duscha. "Our data suggest that if you walk briskly for 12 miles per week you will significantly increase your cardiovascular fitness levels compared to baseline. If you increase either your mileage or intensity, by going up an incline or jogging, you will achieve even greater gains." [source]

[/end Shameless plug]

Tailor strength and cardiovascular workouts to your goals.

TO BUILD MUSCLE

1. Work to fatigue. Weight should be heavy enough so muscle is fatigued after 6 to 15 repetitions.

2. Add weight progressively. Start with one set, one to three times a week, with a weight that tires the muscle after 8 to 15 reps. Once that gets easier — usually in two to four weeks — work up to three sets. Then increase weight slightly and go back to one set, working up to three.

3. Include heavier weights. Once a week, hoist a weight heavy enough to fatigue you after three to five reps. Do two sets.

4. Fuel workouts. Before a strenuous session, Karen Reznik Dolins, an adjunct professor of sports nutrition at Columbia, suggested eating carbohydrates, and within an hour after, carbohydrates and protein.

TO LOSE WEIGHT

1. Focus on cardiovascular exercise. Do workouts like running or aerobics five or more days a week, for at least 45 minutes, but also include weight lifting one to three times a week, said Joseph Donnelly, the director of the Energy Balance Laboratory at the University of Kansas.

2. Be active throughout day. If you sit at a desk, get up and walk around for five minutes every hour.

3. Eat regularly. Pace meals and snacks every three to four hours for the right amount of calories when the body needs them, Dolins said. [source]
You may need to register to read. Make use of

Pretty much confirms an idea I flirted w/earlier this year. I also heard a naturopath say something similiar last week and also read this on a forum. Methinks it now sticks.

It'll be hard, if not impossible, for me to build muscle AND lose weight. My best bet is to work on maintaining the muscle I have or just try not to lose too much.

The naturopath said it takes quite a bit of protein in addition to some heavy resistance to add muscle and it doesn't just happen overnight. The forum said it's to be expected that some muscle loss will happen when eating restricted calories. It's only when bulking starts and calories are ramped up does one actually add muscle.

I dig that.

My first session w/Debbie went well yesterday. Really well. I was so freakishly delirious when I was done, I was bouncing off the walls. Ramp it up is a 45 min pgm and since I did it before, I didn't bother to preview it I just dove right in. I was so not kidding that she is the Head Leg Torturer in Charge. Right away she dives into plie squats while working the arms. Lucky for me Kathy Smith got my legs in shape, and I survived the leg portion. My arms did start to sting after from doing various bicep curls and tricep moves with each set of plie squats. By the 4th (yes I said FOURTH!) set of plie squats, I had to keep them on my waist. 10 mins in and I was already drenched. sweatdrop

The waist work, reaching side to side then doing standing side crunches, went well. I planned to do 8 reps of everything, but she's so darn perky I got lost in the moment and tried to keep up w/them. Hmmph!

Some side kicks were involved, those stung too. Reverse lunges, I've gotten better at, but fuggedabout the front lunges. I was wobbling all over the place, and she's so intuitive she reassured me, in time I'll get my balance. Aww she's sooo sweeeeeet.

Though my earlier post may appear otherwise, I'm feeling really peppy this morning. Only one thing could be the root of it. Endorphins!

Oh how I've missed thee. My head has that funny feeling again. Like my brain took a shower. I feel internally cleansed, my breathing feels crisp. Man I wish I could bottle this up and douse myself w/it from time to time.

Similiar to Operation Crease Begone, Mission Meltdown Back Fat(MBF) gets it's name from my desire to have a back flab free zone (side note, I know the body doesn't spot reduce, naming is purely for my late night cackling pleasure).

First to bring everyone up to date. I haven't set foot in the gym in 2 weeks. Ok I have, but only to fill up my water bottle. No real reason. Back aches hit around week 5 and by week 6, emotional drama and an overall funk thru me off. So technically I ended that challenge way early and didn't even do a week 6 recap.

Last week I took off and used the time to get stuff done around the apt, work on my site and plan what I'd do next. As hokey as it sounds to say I took a week off after basically chucking the last 2 challenge weeks, well I did. It was a mental thing. That being the case, one could say I really haven't been to the gym in 3 weeks, but since I don't see that person, I'm sticking to my story. 2 weeks. 'sides, I got in a few walks/runs @ some point.

*cough*

Now that my soul has been sufficiently bared, the past has been forgiven what on earth does Mission MBF entail?

This time of the day is starting to become my favorite time. It used to be anytime from 11pm to 2am was me time. I like the quiet & knowing when I walk down the hall @ this insane hour, most of my neighbors are still asleep. I like that it's just me in the gym. As I was bent over lacing up my sneakers, in the dim light I looked @ my legs. In the distance I heard a train toot it's horn. I felt like I was in a Nike commercial.

I don't know if that mind game did the trick, but I had a GREAT run this morning. I normally don't talk much about the running b/c to date it's all be laborious, I just trudge thru it. But today, as I was toggling the treadmill screen to the ♥ rate monitor settings, I didn't have that pre-run dread. Once I started, I felt like I floated the entire time, I couldn't believe 30 mins had passed. I actually clapped my hands @ the 29 min mark.

I think the fake iPod knows it's days are numbered. All this week the remote didn't work, this morning it did. I flipped to MTV and caught my fave song (Mr. Brightside) and pretended I had headphones on. Yes still. I looked str8 ahead and ran like I had music in my ears. I ran for the hunger I've been feeling right before bed and as soon as I wake up. I ran for the strength to stick to the food challenge. I ran for all the times in the past when I told myself I couldn't.

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." - Vincent Van Gogh

Hot damn, I'm a runner.

I've started and deleted 3 posts all day today. Trying to find the right words to convey what I'm feeling, but I'm going to leave it alone. It was going to amount to nothing more than a rant and negativity and if that's a place I'm trying to leave...what's the point? What's done is done, lessons learned. Shure I'm still hurting over a few things, but I'm prolly taking things way more personal than I need to. Hey I'm a sensitive chick. I wound easily. Fine. I've got a plan to change up my behavior as it pertains to certain people and that pretty much wraps it all up.

********

Right. 117 mins of working out today. No shitting. My workout schedule is out the window this week so I'm winging it. The plan for today was 20 min HIIT & a 2.5 mile run. But since I missed my run yesterday, I had to switch things up.

I started w/20 min HIIT walk and didn't feel like running. I walked for about 7 more mins thinking things over then did the 20 min pre programmed treadmill walk. By the time I was done, I was ready to run. Ran 2 miles. I've officially christened my new sports bra w/a nice sweat drench. Huzzah!

B/c I missed my upper body workout yesterday and did a ½ assed abs routine on Monday, I just finished a 47 min weight routine doing upper, lower & abs. I'll have to take tomorrow off from weights and then double up once again on Fri. Which frees up tomorrow afternoon to try out Pilates. Coolness.

I feel really great today, drama withstanding. Sometime last week working out, especially the morning runs, have left me feeling good for the rest of the day. A clearheaded & deep breathing kinda good that's undescribable. Yesterday I was feeling so blah from Monday that I didn't have the oomph to do much. But today I just wanted to keep going and going and going. Must be that Oreo overdose from Monday kicking in.

And now I'm not very hungry. It's hot out, and when it's hot I have no appetite. Especially for warm food. Ick. It's pretty much why I've been eating light dinners like sandwiches the last few days. Now even that feels to heavy, so I'll just have some yogurt mixed w/cereal later. As the dog days of summer approach I may have to eat cereal for dinner. Unless they've come out w/a high fiber ice cream.

Dee motivated me to dust the inch of dust off my Mari Winsor DVD and take another crack @ pilates this week. B/c I have to double up on weights this week, due to a missed upper arms workout yesterday, tomorrow afternoon my schedule is open to try it out. Ironically when I make a decision to do something, I stumble upon an article or get an email that reinforces what I want to do. Kismet I think.

Pilates: Your Ticket to a Longer, Leaner Look - By T.A. Sloane

Pilates, an old exercise regimen made fashionable in recent years by athletes and movie stars, builds strength and flexibility without adding bulk.

Unlike conventional weight training, which emphasizes repetition on one muscle group at a time, Pilates focuses on a series of precise, controlled movements that work muscles in several positions. The result: a longer, leaner look such as that seen on such Pilates converts as Madonna and Julia Roberts.

The low-impact exercises concentrate on strengthening the abdomen, lower back and buttocks. They are done on floor mats or by using several pieces of equipment that look like medieval torture devices but are actually gentle on the body. [Read more]

I remarked earlier that despite an overall feeling of glumness (it'll stick around till June 4th), I do feel a *tad* better. I blame the endorphins.

But a quick aside on changes made to the OCB challenge this week.

So the month of May has come to a merciful end. I knew it was gonna be a rough month from the gitgo. Long story short, yesterday I had to go to traffic court and ended up paying a fine. All month I've been semi stressing out about it and it all came to a head yesterday. The drama couldn't be any higher. It was rainy and when I get there the parking lot is packed, so I spent 15 mins looking for a spot then another 20 mins standing on line to get inside the courthouse. Making me almost 45 mins late. When the judge finally sees me I've been there about 2 hours. By the time I paid the fine I hadn't eaten in 6 hours. I wasn't ravenous. Yet. I was more pissed. @ myself and other things I'll get into later. So as I head home, too late and too spent to workout I just want to eat my mild dinner, yogurt high fiber English muffin w/cheese and Canadian bacon. Luckily I had already drank 90 oz of water so a ½ a bottle will meet my goal & I'd make up the lower body workout on Saturday.

But when I finally got to the car, my lower back was killing me from a combination of stress and slouching in the courtroom. Then my head started throbbing. Hunger headache. Then I started feeling sorry for myself being assed out a hunk of change I don't have to spare. I couldn't wait to get home to eat, I no longer wanted lame-o healthy food, I wanted to drown my sorrows face first in a pile of salty fries.

So let me tell ya about a cycle where I found myself stuck on stupid:

Workouts have been going well this week, surprisingly smooth. It almost feels like until I switched up to the new training plan, I was trying to cram a square peg into a round hole. The last two weeks I've felt all all zen like, gliding my round hole into it's proper home. This whole lifestyle change feels like a house of cards. I swear I put one card in the wrong place and I wobble from the repercussions for days, and it takes me a while to find my footing again.

I suspect someone stole the remote from the gym. Two Saturdays ago when I did the tortuous 60 min power walk, I guess I was blasting the TV. W/the treadmill making so much noise and the a/c going I didn't notice. A girl came in and told me her apt was right above and asked if I could lower the volume. I was huffing and puffing so hard, drenched in sweat I didn't understand what she was trying to say. She practically had to get up on the treadmill w/me for me to make the connection to her arm pointing @ the TV and then up @ the ceiling. So I lowered the volume and she left.

The following Tuesday when I hit the gym the remote was gone. I saw the wastebasket overturned in front the TV and a metal stick next to it. The low budget manual remote. I have my own manual remote: a broomstick handle. I ran back upstairs and got that.

Now I may be totally wrong, but I think either she or someone in her apt took the remote. Even though I turned down the volume, I'm sure for the weeks before she came to the gym I had the TV on pretty loud. And it's not just me, when I go in and turn it on, usually it's on ESPN and already turned up, so perhaps all day long they've been aggravated by the noise.

So now when I put it on Full House, I'm stuck. Speaking of which, I was totally on point with my prediction from yesterday. 11 mins into the first episode Michelle says, "You got it dude." But yea, the remotes gone which means no MTV/VHI. No fake iPod for me to jam too until I get the real one (only 1 more sign up needed!.Now I'm going for the laptop!) [6/17 update: I got the iPod] [1/31/06 upddate: I got the shuffle!] I really needed the music today too, I got so desperate when I ran, I pretended the commercial jingles were songs

In 5 weeks, I lost 1lb. Given the miniscule diff between day 72 & today it's prolly safe to say I maintained. But it's a bit of an eyeopener to see signs of the pudge creeping back.

# of workout days? 36. # of missed workouts? 12.

1/3 missed. And of the 2/3rd time I did workout, I'd say ½ of those I ½ assed.

Oy vey.

So that closes the chapter on the last 5 weeks. Could've been better, thankfully it's not worse. My mission is to have a crease free side by the end of this training block (7/2)

So since training routine #2 abruptly ended with a whimper and not a bang, there'll be no big to do w/progress pics. Later today, for posterity, I'll throw up some comparison pudge pics and crunch the numbers. They aren't pretty. At all.

But to ignore them would be doing myself an injustice. I *feel* I missed a lot of workout days, especially Fridays but I *need* to see it on paper for it to sink in.

My original planning, way back @ the start of the year, was to do 3 training routines that'll tide me over till the end of June. Back then, June was going to be a month of great upheaval and changes. Not any more.

Now that I'll have the gym for a few months longer, the internal pressure to use it as much as possible that's been nagging @ me has subsided a bit. Also b/c June was to be the month of upheavals I reserved the last week as a rest week so I could take care of stuff.

Since I cut training routine #2 short and I'll no longer need that final week off, training block #3 is now 8 weeks instead of 6. If you were able to follow that brief recap, here's my plan:

Ahhh the bloody contract, sitting there working its magic to keep me in line. Yesterday of all days I would oversleep. I thought I hit snooze. Nope I hit off. Then I got to the point where I felt like I was laying there a tad too long but reluctant to look @ the clock b/c if it was only 3 minutes and I still had 7 mins to snooze I would have been furious. But it really did feel too long. I look @ the clock, ½ hour!

Yesterday felt like the longest day ever. I was dragging all day. You?d think sleeping most of the weekend would have left me rested. Nope I was groggy. It was a battle to get out of bed to work out and I was so not looking forward to lifting weights later.

The icing on the cake was, I didn't go grocery shopping b/c I thought most of my foods would carry over this week, only to find out the milk expired yesterday and the bread was developing mold. So I thought I'd swing by Publix after I worked out but then decided to just get it over w/since I pass it on my way home.

Ahhh that 3 mile run. So how'd it go?

Yesterday was the first day I worked out since Wednesday. It felt like a lifetime. Which is so weird b/c when I finally got around to updating my training journal and fitday stats, I worked out 4 outta 7 days. And a pretty vigorous 4 days if I do say so myself. Yet that irrational fear was there on Thursday. The fear that one day would be the string of thread that?ll undo a sweater. And I was trying to figure out why. Despite being @ this for over 2 months, I'm battling w/years of doing nothing. In that context, laziness wins hands down.

Food wise:
It was a bust this week. No other way to describe it. Not gonna sugarcoat it. For the record I was always starving and cranky.

I just came back from grocery shopping and for about 37 bucks, would have been 31 but I added some salmon @ the last minute, I got much better food for next week. I plugged a sample menu in fitday. I'm @ 1605 calories (could be 1710 if I eat a full serving of peanut butter) and my ratios (carb/fat/protein) are @ 41/39/20.

There is one downfall, to be expected no?, zero fruits. *sigh* Try as I might, as far as my ratios went, they didn't fit. But I'll look on the brighter side, as always, it's only recently I've been on fruit kick. They?ll come back soon and @ least I'm getting veggies.

39% of my nutrients coming from protein means I'm eating aprox 151gms. And w/o really trying I managed to get my carb gms to come in around 185, including fiber.

Saving the best news for last: I'm back to eating every 2? - 3 hours, Lean Cuisine is back and I could splurge a little, nutrient wise, and get the classic meals (those are the ones I like the most), and most importantly, Fiber one makes a comeback. Lord do I need it. *ahem*. My fiber grams are now in the high 20's.

A few weeks back I explained my eating regime, here's my logic behind my workout regime:

In addition to the standard [Entry Disclaimer: Keep in mind there is no MD, RN, PHD behind my name so my routine isn't meant to be duplicated before doing your own research & checking w/your doctor or healthcare provider], I should also point out I lose weight extremely slowly.

So while my own regime may spite me by blessing someone else w/a bigger weekly loss, bear in mind it is very intense. However, since my focus is to improve my fitness, stamina, endurance, & muscles while losing body fat, losing slowing pisses me off to no extent, is really fine by me.

Even though I post my daily workouts in my training journal it's bare bones. For future reference, from time to time I'll post how I feel and what I've modified over here.

I found out yesterday, well Saturday actually but I wasn't thinking clearly, I wasn't supposed to run 3 miles on Sunday. The Hal Higdon Spring Training pgm actually started today w/a 1.5 mile run. Pffft!

Sunday's run was interesting, around mile 2.3, every 5 mins I started stopping for about a minute to catch my breath. Even though he says you can walk, I was determined to run all 3 miles. Today was a bit of a struggle. Most of these struggles are mental. I wanted to stop but felt like, if I ran 3 miles Sunday I'll be damned if I flake out on 1.5. I didn't flake and 20 mins later I was like, What's next?

Compared to Couch to 5k I like mile watching more than time watching. I feel more accomplished. W/time I always whined, How much longer? W/miles I'm like, Wow look how far I've gone.

Looking @ his training plan, over the next 12 weeks the Tuesday run will get longer. I'm going to follow it up w/a walk. I really like doing 60 solid minutes in the AM and felt so incomplete today. As his runs get longer, I'll shorten my walk.

Since today was my first day doing HIIT, I winged it. I'm using the Body For Life version and based my starting point on the hour long walk where one day I increased the mph and the next the incline every 5 mins. So I walked @ 9% and intervals of 3.3-3.8mph. I could stand to bump it up a notch.

B/c I really don't want to do an official workout on Saturdays I originally planned for the HITT to be on M/W/F. Wednesday is already a long day, so starting next week I'm moving HIIT to S/T/Th.

Now moving onto the evilest person I've seen this side of Debbie Siebers (Slim in 6 lady) freakin Kathy Smith! She tried to kill me yesterday.

As of today I'm a Couch to 5k graduate. Here's my RPA (running point average...ha!)

4.5mph/2.25 miles.

I ran. RAN! @ 4.5mph! For 30 minutes. str8!

Now I can stop being coy & quit saying that I jog.

@ 4.5mph I freakin? ran! Huzzah!

Ahh workouts this week. Torture. Then again have they been anything but?

Cardio
Couch to 5k on Tuesday was a struggle. Full House just couldn't get me thru those last 5 minutes. I flipped to MTV & VH1 praying for an upbeat song to zone out too. MTV played I'm okay by My Chemical Romance (love the song hate the video) I turned up the volume, stared str8 ahead and just ran and ran and ran. Now that I'm a runner (ha!) I need some tunes.

eep! I think I'm recovered. Somewhat. I didn't think anything could be harder than increasing speed/incline every 5 minutes. How wrong I was. Today I did level 7 on the preprogrammed Weight Loss Program. I was doing level 6 which peaks @ 3.5mph/9%. Level 7 peaks @ 3.9/10%.

OH. MY. GAWD.

I never ever wanted to quit so bad. I actually did pause the machine for about 30 seconds in the last 15 mins. I don't even remember what was on TV. I think I was close to tears @ one point. I remembered being grateful that I only do this stupid pgm 2 more times this week. I also wondered who was the sadist that came up w/the pgm and dear lord do I dare do level 8?!?!

On a happier note, I RAN for 25 minutes @ 3.6mph today! It didn't even feel like it. I had a pretty steady stride, no flopping around. But I'm sure I looked like a doof reaching for my water bottle and struggling to hold it steady as my thighs pumped up and down. That would be the EXACT moment a guy walks by *groan*

The coolest part is since I forgot to take my cell phone to use its alarm, I had to use Full House as a guide. When I lost track of what time it was I watched the clock. By that point I had 10 mins to go, but told myself b/c I already did 15 mins I could totally do 10.

I think thats why I like this 5k training so much. B/c the earlier weeks were intervals of 3 or 5 mins I always break down my time to go by saying, C'mon Renee just go for 5 more mins, you've run 5 mins before.

Anyhoo, the 3 week @rse Kickin' Challenge beginssss today!

I'm going to make a countdown table and pin it @ the top for the duration of the challenge. I'll check it off each night and use the journal in Fitday to log which 3 veggies/fruits I ate and how much fiber and water I got in for the day.

I mentioned this mini challenge last week but here are the main points:

Food:
30 gms of fiber
3 veggies
2 fruits
100 oz of water
NO free meal Saturday

Cardio:
Couch to 5k increase mph by .1 every session
45 min Weight loss Pgm - go up to level 7

Strength Training
Increase reps by 3 each week

Flexibilty:
Add one more session

Sleep:
Go to bed by 9pm

Since my primary focus is on improving my fitness, I'm going to take a hiatus from all things results related for the next 3 weeks. I'm not going to weigh in until the end of the challenge. Also, while I'll still take the daily pudge pic, I won't post them daily. @ the end of the challenge I'll retroactively post them all.

So enjoy Day 50 while it lasts and let's all hope Day 71 puts it to shame

Oh, there's a little secret I've been meaning to share but I got sidetracked. After I reveal it, it'll seem obvious. But judging from the bemoaning and questions I consistently see about this very issue around the internet, I don't think it's common knowledge. Those of you who already know this just nod knowingly, but to everyone else, lean a little closer as I fill you in.

As you lose weight...in order to keep losing...you have to workout...more!

Now before you recoil in horror, slap the monitor or curse @ me under your breath, let me explain. If you've been losing weight by eating right and working out and a few weeks later you seem to hit a wall, despite doing the same things, here's one of the reasons why:

A couple days a week I do a preprogrammed 45min walk. It alternates from 1 incline to the next. My treadmill has a setting to key in weight. I'm usually ½ asleep that time of the morning so each week I wasn't paying much attn after I keyed my weight in. About 30 minutes after walking, I finally wake up and start paying attn to the readout.

When I incline @ 7% my cal/per hour readout is in the 550's and when it goes up to 9% I'm in the 600's. One morning I noticed the #'s looked diff't than I was used to seeing, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

It dawned on me. From week to week decreasing my weight by 1lb didn't make it obvious, but looking @ what the cal/per hour read out was 5lbs ago made it glaring. I'm burning fewer calories. Bastards!

And isn't that a blip? The less you weigh, the less you burn, the longer it'll take to lose. Yet, in a logical sorta way, it makes sense. But I think it's safe to say that for most of us losing weight is an emotional issue I'm sure most people would yell out sonofab@tch!

Logically I get what's going on, but something about seeing the red digital #'s on the treadmill made it crystal clear. As my weight is going down, if I want the same caloric burn, I need to do more. And that's what I meant earlier about having to workout more.

Keep in mind, more doesn't mean necessarily having to do another xx minutes. If that were the case @ some point I'd need to workout in 2-3 hour stints. More could be increasing the mph, the incline or both.

Try it out yourself, this works best if you use a machine that gives you a caloric readout, play around w/the settings. See what you burn @ say 180lbs. Then to achieve that same burn @ 170lbs, see how fast or high you need to walk.

Making that adjustment is one way to break a plateau. And keep in mind when you drop another 10lbs or so, you'll have to challenge yourself once again.

I know, I know, it's a bitter pill to swallow, especially if you are averse to working out, but look on the bright side, your body is becoming more fit.

Minor disclaimer: I'm not a physiologist so I'm really just theorizing here. There are many many many factors for plateaus and other/better things you can do to break them.

Today was Couch to 5k's last jog/walk rotation. Starting Thursday I'm a (eep!) runner. Looking more closely @ my training calendar I realized I may have goofed, (I'm too lazy to find the entry). This training block is 10 weeks, I roughly have 3½ weeks to go. I may have been calling it a 12 week training block. That's b/c I confused it w/the "12 week to see results" and the fact that I planned to start the first week of the year. Instead I started in mid January. B/c I have to keep the last two training blocks on schedule, I made this one 10 weeks.

Now that I've made it thru the first 3 major routines since getting sick, I'm going to continue w/my current pace for the rest of this week. But for the final 3 weeks, I'm pushing myself.

Strength Training
Every week I'll increase the reps by 3, even pushups (yikes!). Those were tough yesterday. Let's hope by Friday I get my groove back.

Cardio
- For Couch to 5k I'll increase the mph by 1 every session. So by the final session I'll be running @ 4.4mph. I'm now @ 3.5mph.

- For the 45 min walk I'll go up to the next level, #7.

- The 60 min walk where I increase speed/incline in the last ½ hour will stay the same. It's still very challenging.

Flexibility
I'm going to add in one more session, most likely on the weekend.

Food
Two major points:

1) no free meal for those 3 weeks. Nada. Zero. Zilch.
It's been just over two months, since exercise is becoming a given I can now turn my attention to food. My meals will be a 50/25/25 breakdown. While I'm flexible on how I get to that breakdown, some conditions must be met. I must have over 30gms of fiber & eat 2 fruits & 3 veggies per day.

2) 100 oz of water minimum per day.
As for water, as I was getting sick, I was slacking & trending down. Then it all took a dive last week. Even yesterday I was lackadaisical about getting in my plan of 125oz and ended the day @ around 50oz.

Sleeping
Bed by 9pm period or earlier. Not 9:15 or 9:30.

So that's the plan Stan.

The Discovery Body Challenge ends this week and it sorta sucks b/c when I signed up @ the start of the year I was in the high 170's and then fell into a 2-3 week pit where I gained 4 lbs. But stupid website wouldn't let me reset my start weight so my progress looks stilted. It took almost 3 weeks for me to show a loss on their site, even though I was technically losing since I started. Pfft! Now my net loss for DBC isn't remarkable. Ah well, those are the breaks. Besides w/1 challenge down, I'll still have 500 miles, 05 in 05, Couch to 5k & the Self Challenge to go

In addition to this training block ending on 4/2 Couch to 5k also comes to an end and by that point it'll be time to plan another 5lbs in 5 weeks. wÒÓ†!

Today was just one of those days. I keep feeling like I'm one second behind or a ½ step off my game.

I have to admit today scared me. I was nervous about picking up the weights after a week off. I had all these doubts and fears that the "12 week till you see results" won't apply to me b/c I got sick smack in the middle. The perfectionist in me wanted a restart. A do over.

I can't avoid those thoughts or pretend they don't exist. I mean I knew I was going to work out and no matter what level I ended back up at, it would be okay. But still.

Sometimes I use those fears to my advantage. I had a paranoia that if I stopped I wouldn't restart, so today I zoomed thru the moves. Usually when I'm done ahead of the tape, I take breather and get some water. Today I went ahead to the next move. I didn't even do the between circuit stretches (just for today).

As I went thru the moves I kept thinking of the pudge pics. How the back flab is starting to receed and how the creases in the love handles are getting shorter. And especially how I really want to help those things happen, so I pushed harder and before I knew it I was on the floor doing the last ab move while sweat poured and I panted like a sprinter. Which turns out to be a great way to end the day as all the stresses from earlier in the day and all the anxieties from last week fizzled.

Oscar Sunday, posting two categories in one so I can get ready for the ceremony in 10 hours!! .

Food
They should name a path after me @ Publix. I take the same route every Sunday.

Right to produce: pick up apples, tangerine, fruit of the week, wraps, soy milk (chocolate this week) & plum tomatoes.

Make left, walk along dairy wall: stop for LF yogurt, cc, milk, & cheese.

If necessary, double back: get cereal & peanut butter.

Continue along dairy wall: quick left for nuts & raisins.

Go str8 for 2 more aisles: make left down frozen food lane, bundle up warmly and gather broccoli, spinach & veggie of the week.

Final left, then right: proceed to check out.

Give obligatory head nod when cashier/bagger comments (again) "Oh my, look how healthy you eat"

Add 6-8 bags to cart & head to car.

In, out & back home w/in 40 mins.

A few weeks ago I mentioned wanting to do a 40/30/30 proportions, but looking @ how I've been eating I'm going to stick w/what I've naturally been doing 50/25/25. When I forced getting in extra protein just for the sake of reaching 30% eating wasn't enjoyable.

Since then, I've done some reading. Based on what I've found, 50-60% carbs @ the beginning when trying to lose excess bodyfat is ideal. When I get all buffed up, I'll be more diligent about protein. For where I'm @ now and what I'm trying to do, I'm doing fine.

So now that I'm no longer sweating the proportions, I've been working to include more fruits & veggies by trying to get in 2 of each as a base and then an extra one as a bonus.

This week apples & tangerine are my base, plums/nectarines are the bonus. Same w/veggies. Broccoli and spinach are the base, tomato is the bonus

I've also been paying attention to fat. Right now I get that from nuts & natural peanut butter, this week I've added seeds to the lineup.

When I get to the point where I make food the priority, right now exercise is, I'll start to pick healthier fats and vary up the fruits and veggies more. For now thru the end of June, I'm just touching on food, tweaking it here and there from week to week and reading up on nutrition in general. I may even start making the free meal every other week. But for now, let's just keep that li'l secret on the hush hush from my tummy

Workouts
All weights & cardio stays the same this week. Couch to 5k increases as normal.

Towards the end of last week the increases in the last 30 mins of cardio wasn't as painful as last week. Still NOT FUN by a long shot, but I'll stay @ this level for two more weeks. @ that point I'll be bumping up the reps on Power 90 Sculpt Level 3/4.

As for weights, by Friday the 8lbers started feeling more comfortable. Either I had a burst of energy or I'm getting better @ pushups. I'm just about nailing them. I was going to increase squats this week, but for the last few weeks I've been increasing here and there and since nothing else is going up it'll be easier for me to keep track of all increases when I do them @ the same time.

So same reps: 12 for the upper, 15 for the lower, max pushups will be 15, max squats 45, 20 reps for all abs moves. Do that for 2 solid weeks and then I'll increase reps for the final 3 weeks of this workout routine.

Lastly Couch to 5k. This week is I have a 25 min run. Today I got so into it I ran an extra minute. That would have NOT happened during the first week. For one, I watched the clock like a hawk, not @ all eager to run one second longer than necessary.

Today was 5 & 8 min run w/3 min walks in between. I worked to keep a steady stride, and that's where I just zoned out and next thing I know I clocked an extra minute. Which was pretty cool.

Ok, t-minus 9? hours to Oscar. Go Jamie, Hillary, Morgan, Cate & Million Dollar Baby!
(my picks for actor/actress, supporting actor/actress & movie)

This morning debuted the 20 mins str8 jog, hence the musing about sweatdrop sweatdrop sweatdrop earlier.

So how'd Renee do?

Renee gave it her best shot. She took her cell phone w/her so she could set the alarm short of 20 mins to avoid clock watching. However, when you factor in that Renee's brain does NOT function @ that hour of the morning, coupled w/Renee being woken up thru the night by slamming doors which caused her to be a tad sleep deprived & extremely grouchy along w/the math phobia that has plagued her since childhood, let's just say that things got interesting.

Poor Renee. There she was doing her 5 min warmup and trying to set the alarm for 19 mins ahead of the end of the 5min warmup. Understand that? Neither did she.

Minute two. Renee's thinking, Okay 20 minutes jog + 3 minutes left in the warm up, so I need to set the alarm for 22 minutes from now.

But it was minutes to the top of the hour that her brain couldn't wrap around. Had she started walking @ a nice round time of 5am, this would be easy peasy. But nooooo she started walking @ minutes to the hour. She just couldn't figure it out.

Minute 4. Oh Shyte! I've got to get this stupid thing set & I still have moisten my ♥ rate monitor. OMG OMG OMG, she whimpered.

Finally she just closed her eyes, punched in a few buttons and hoped for the best. She programmed the consoles? readout to the ♥ rate screen and settled back to watch Full House.

Now I can't tell you how she felt from minute to minute. But, I can tell you our girl ran and ran and ran. Sometimes she ran slow so she could reach for the water bottle. Sometimes she ran @ the end of the treadmill. Sometimes she ran up against the console. A few minutes she ran like Phoebe Buffay. Other minutes she galloped like a Clydesdale. And for a few seconds here and there, she even had a smooth stride.

The hodgepodge of styles added up as she pumped those thighs up and down over and over and over.

Then she panicked. Surely I must have ran 20 mins. I'm outta styles!

Plus, Full House seemed to be wrapping up, that "this is the moral of the show" music started playing.

OMG OMG OMG what if I didn't set the time right?!? Did I pick AM and not PM?

She debated checking the time on the treadmill. Her fingers lingered hesitantly over the console buttons. If she didn't have less than 5 mins ago she would cry. She had to know for sure. And just as she pushed her index finger thisclose from the buttons, the alarm chimed!

And let me tell you, as an anti-morning person, she has NEVER! EVER! been so happy to hear that alarm go off.

Then she checked the treadmill and saw she had one minute/40 seconds to go.

That was the BEST minute and 40 seconds of her running life.

I normally don't do mid week workout reports but I just want to note some things for future reference.

Flexibility:
I never ended up getting the 2nd session in last week, I really do have a schedule for a reason. Some guilt & regret was involved for a few days, but it's nothing major.

Yesterday for the first time, since I've started stretching, I found myself breathing deeply. Very cool. Still, my mind still races. That's just me. My ability to focus in on the stretches has improved. Time flew by yesterday.

Cardio:
I don't even know where to start.

sweatdrop

Couch to 5k I ran jogged for 8 minutes yesterday. My lungs/chest/heart felt fine. My thighs felt good. My shins didn't talk to me. The breakdown was 8m jog, 5m walk, 8m jog. Towards the end of the first 8m jog, I had around 2m to go, I really wanted to stop. By the last 8m jog, that final minute was the hardest.

But since everything feels fine, I don't know what it is making me want to stop. I didn't feel winded nor was I wheezing. My thighs didn't feel heavy like they did last week. It's prolly a mental thing & a result of time watching. Since it's intervals I have to watch the time.

No walking tomorrow, only jogging. I'm going to set the alarm on my cell phone for 2 minutes shy of the entire workout and keep the treadmill readout on the ♥ rate screen.

Walking I tweaked my original plan of increasing the mph by 2 notches. I knew I wouldn't make it today, so like the incline increase on Monday, I went up 1 notch every 5 minutes.

Now that I'm trying to, I can't recall the final 10 minutes. By that point I'm maxing out. For the inclines it means by that point I'm walking @ 11-12% & 3.5mph. For the mph, I'm walking @ 3.7-3.8mph & 9%.

It's a fuzzy, extremely not fun, moment in time.

I paused once today, not longer than 30 secs, to get some paper towels. Any longer and I can't guarantee getting back on that thing. And I confess, I held onto the rails for a few seconds. Somewhere in those last 15 minutes.

Funny thing, there moments I don't think I can go any further. Then something shifts. I feel like everything in my body is churning along and that I can really do this.

Misc I really pushed my leisurely bike ride yesterday. I didn't mean too, but ? way thru I just wanted to pedal. So I put my head down and rode and rode and rode. When I looked @ the screen the #, I can't remember what they call it, was @ 18-19. I try to keep it @ 14.

I was doing jumping jacks each morning, but I stopped this week. It's a bit too much for my knees right now. I'll incorporate that and something else towards the end of the spring.

Strength Training:
Welp. I've survived moving on to the 8lbers.

The first 3 rounds of Power 90 Sculpt Level 3/4 is exactly what I've already been doing. With one exception, where I was doing standard pushups, I'm now doing decline pushups. Also there is a 4th round that has Upright rows, Calf Raises, Forearm Blast & Lower Back Extensions, making it roughly 10 mins longer.

As planned I did 12 reps for my upper body. The shoulder raises w/8lbers were tough. Sweat just poured out of me. The newness of the increased weights, threw me off. I totally forgot to do the extra 2 shoulder moves from Shaping Up with Weights for Dummies . By the time I remembered it was the end of the 2nd round and my arms were spent so I only did the forward shoulder raises.

Even though the 8lbers were hard, I felt like I was lugging two bricks, I'm going to push thru with them. I looked @ my schedule and I'll be @ level 3 (where I do 12 reps w/8lbers) for 3 weeks. When I did level Power 90 Sculpt Level 1/2 I did each level for 2 weeks.

I managed 12 pushups, (watching my form really helped), 15 chair dips (I cried out during that final rep) & 15 walking lunges and squats.

@ the end of the 4th round is maximum pushups & squats. I chose wide pushups & did 15, up from 12. B/c I already do 3 part squats (15 reps each) I knew I could, @ the very least, max @ 45. That # will increase shortly.

Feelings
It's been a tough week, not in a hard, difficult or impossible way. I definitely feel challenged. Like I can't keep going, or I want to stop.

I hesitate to list a particular area I know I've progressed, b/c I'm jinxy by nature and to avoid falling on my face I'm just not going to make a big to do about anything just yet.

I'm sweating differently too. I first noticed it w/cardio. It's starting earlier and a very steady sweat I seriously have to sop up my brow. And my back. And my chest.

I need to see what info I can find on that. I started searching yesterday and found a comment on someone's blog, so I take it w/a grain of salt. They said lots of sweating is a sign of your body becoming more fit.

I've got to google that. Did I mention sweatdrop?

Big plans for the final week in February, it's like my own version of TV sweeps week. heh

Strength Training
I'm moving up to level 3/4 Power 90 Sculpt Level 3/4 That level adds one more round, for a total of 4. Abs will increase to 20 reps per exercise for a total of 200 reps. Lower body reps will increase to 15. I'm moving up to the 8lbers, so I can adjust, initially I'm dropping my upper body reps down from 15 to 12. I'd like to use the 8lbers universally, but I know my shoulders are much weaker than my biceps. Tomorrow I'll see if I can handle it all around.

I'm also reluctantly increasing pushups by 2 reps to 12. It wasn't till Friday that it hit me. My form was off. My knees were too far back and my palms too far ahead. Which caused me to I awkwardly push myself up and away. When I planted my knees directly under my hips and my palms under my shoulder I felt like I was pushing down and I wasn't sliding on the mat.

Cardio
Couch to 5k ramps up BIG TIME! Today was 5m jog/3m walk. By Thursday I'll be jogging for 20 mins str8. I'm excited.

And lastly, b/c Oprah is my Queen, I'm going to incorporate yet another tip from her bootcamp.

Oprah and her team are using treadmills and increasing the challenge every two minutes by raising the speed, incline, or both. The idea is to continually push yourself a little further than you thought you could go, until you get to the point where you can talk but don't want to.

I walk for an hour and let me tell you, me following that tip to a tee ain't gonna happen but I can do some tweaking and add those increases to the last ½ hour.

I don't know what treadmill she's using to be able to increase the incline every 2 minutes. Oh wait. It's Oprah. Right. Well mine only goes up to 12% and with my starting point being 7%, I'll run outta incline.

On the days I'm walking 7% @ 3.5, I'll increase the incline by 1 notch every 5 minutes which breaks down to:

min - incline
30-35 - 7%
35-40 - 8%
40-45 - 9%
45-50 - 10%
50-55 - 11%
55-60 - 12% (lawdhavemercy)

On the days when I'm walking 3.3/9%, I'll increase the speed by 2 notches:

min - mph
30-34 - 3.5
35-40 - 3.7
40-45 - 3.9
45-50 - 4.1
50-55 - 4.3
55-60 - 4.5 (good-googly-moogly)

I *think* I can handle it. Only one way to find out.

By the end of last week the walk that wiped me out earlier in the week didn't. I didn't feel the urge to stop either Friday or Saturday. Actually by Friday I was having great workouts all around. Which reconfirms my feeling that I was simply having an off week.

Since I slept in a bit this morning I didn't do the 45 min walk after Couch to 5k. Instead I did the 20 min fit test program @ level 5 (peaks @ 3.8mph/8%).

B/c wanted to end w/a solid hour this morning I rode the bike for 10 minutes and b/c it was such a short time I did the intervals pgm @ level 3. Those were some mighty high peaks, but doable since each interval was 40 seconds.

E! had a behind the scenes special on Constantine which I saw yesterday. 10 minutes was just enough for me to catch the end of the show. I swear the extra cardio had NOTHING to do w/my semi-crush on Keanu. B/c he is no Johnny Depp/George Clooney. Further proven when I hot tailed it outta the gym as soon as his E! True Hollywood Story started and oh my looky there, my bike ride has conveniently come to an end

The other morning, inspired by Oprah, I upped the mph on my walk, from 3.3mph to 3.5mph. My shins weren't too happy. This morning I didn't have the heart to torture them again, so I got the to increase the incline from 7% to 9%.

Interestingly for the entire workout my average ♥ rate was the same as when I'd walk 7%. Also, the caloric burn, which I don't take as the gospel I just note it as an fyi sorta thing, was greater when I bumped the incline up 2 notches vs. bumping up the speed 2 notches.

It's something like:
3.3mph/7% = 560
3.5mph/7% = 580
3.3mph/9% = 650!!

And that pattern of breaking a sweatdrop @ 20 minutes was SHATTERED today. I broke a sweat @ around the 10 min mark. I thought I was going to DIE!!! And when I feel that way, the humor quotient of Full House goes down proportionately.

Many many many minutes I wanted to just stop the madness already. I couldn't even get my water w/o holding the handles. So I compromised. Instead of stopping, I lowered the incline to 7% to reach for the water and didn't stay @ that incline for more than 30 seconds.

I confess, I did pause the machine ONCE. But in my defense it was to get paper towels to sop my brow. I was that drenched. My back, my chest, my head was soaked. I didn't want to use that as an excuse to stop, but when I couldn't see anymore, I took advantage of my impaired condition. heh.

It wasn't till I had 10 minutes left did I feel, ok I can keep this up a bit longer. Those first 50 minutes SUCKED!

Later when I was taking a super hot shower trying to remember it all, I couldn't. I vaguely remember sweating profusely but not how my legs felt like they were scaling a mountain.

So now that I've done both I'm going to alternate the pain. One day 3.5mph/7% the next time it'll be 3.3mph/9%. I'll trick the legs into thinking they are getting off easy. When the shins yelp @ 3.5mph I'll reassure them with 3.3mph and then sock it to the thighs w/the 9% incline. Then the @ the next session when the thighs whimper @ 9% I'll reassure them w/7% incline and suckerpunch the shins w/3.5mph.

They'll thank me some day. *mwahaha*

Workouts this week will see moderate increases.

Strength training pretty much stays the same. The shock of going up to 3 reps has settled, so this week will be about pushing myself while concentrating on keeping form. I was wiping out @ the end of the reps towards the end of last week. So the challenge will be to stay focused and not just get thru it. Especially in the abs. By that point I am drenched in sweat & panting something awful. Still, I'll increase those from 12 reps to an even 15 reps. Otherwise all other reps stay the same.

Couch to 5k increases this week. The matching repetitions of 90 seconds walk/90 seconds jog is over. This week has two 5 min jog portions, which went surprisingly well yesterday. I've still got to work on my gait. Now that I'm jogging longer, I've tried to increase my stride and it felt pretty good. When I was jogging 90 secs & 3 mins I was galloping w/ short steps.

@ the last minute I increased my 60min walk this morning. For that I blame Oprah . Even though 7%/3.3mph was challenging me, keeping my ♥ rate in the 140's, I read this:

Every day, take it up a notch; staying at the same level is the biggest mistake people make. Don't be afraid to jack up that incline! The idea is to continually push yourself a little further than you thought you could go, until you get to the point where you can talk but don't want to.

Well I wasn't increasing that incline any higher, bump that Ms. Oprah :: , instead I increased my speed to 3.5mph. I normally break a sweat @ the 20 min mark, I think the sweatdrop trickled the second my foot touched the surface?.

Man!

I wanted to stop. Pause. Crawl under a hole. I was sooooooooooooo tempted to drop it back down. Even to 3.4. Full House couldn't go by fast enough & was so NOT funny today. It was the longest hour. It wasn't fun.

Plus my fingers were very tight. I was lackadaisical on topping off my bottle this morning. When I started the walk it was ? full. And given that my body is now spoiled by 130-150oz a day, it gave me a big ole' :: @ the 90oz I had on yesterday.

Harumph! The nerve!

Every, and I mean every, body part is stinging. Especially my upper body/shoulders. I'm not gonna get this grimace off my face for a looong time.

By the time I did the 2nd round of walking lunges, my legs were wobbling. Did 12 squats today. Almost did 15, but I remembered. Tricep pushups are wiping me out by #7.

Man.

I'm gonna :sosweepy: like a tonight. Also going to bed early. Gotta make sure I beat Gray Guy in the morning.

On a brighter note, tomorrow is my last Couch to 5k session for week 3. I really liked week 3. The first 2 weeks is a 90 sec hodge podge of running/walking. It feels too jerky and I always have my eyes on the clock. This week has been 90 sec run/walk & 3 min run/walk so it's only 2 rounds. Much smoother.

Now if I can just figure out how to run gracefully and not feel like I'm hoofin' it, Renee will be a girl.

I am gonna sleep GOOOOD tonight. All the increases in my routines today has kicked my bootay.

This morning I bumped up the treadmills' mph from 3.1 to 3.3. Very brisk and it kept my ♥ rate in the high 130's to mid 140's.

As for this afternoon, although those 3 reps doesn't seem like a lot, they damn near knocked me out. Even my biceps were howling by rep 14. Yeee-Oww! @ the last minute I tacked on 2 extra reps to the abs, and I miscounted and ended up doing 15 instead of 12 reps for the squats.

I will NOT make that same mistake anytime soon.

B/c I'm easily influenced, I try to limit what I read on a daily basis. Some words plant seeds of doubt in my mind. Yesterday I was on a forum and someone posted that @ one point they went to the gym 2 hours a day, everyday. After 4 months they only lost 20lbs. They felt all that working out was for naught and proved that working out so much is worthless.

For a split second I was unsettled. I look over my shoulders thinking, are they talking to me......of course not. But still.

Sometimes what you don't know is just as important as what you know. I don't know what that person was eating, I don't know how much intensity they put in @ the gym, I don't know their body type, I don't know their goals, I don't know if their version of success is the same as my own, I don't know what types of workouts they were doing, I don't even know if they were telling the truth.

So I moved on.

My workouts will have lots of increases this week. I'm going up to 10 pushups. Last Friday I was just about comfortably doing 5. I do pushups @ the start of each round, for 3 rounds. Round 1 is regular, round 2 is wide & round 3 is tricep pushps.

Upper body reps increase from 12 to 15 and lower body increases from 10 to 12. The jogging portion of Couch to 5k also increases from 90 seconds to 3 minutes.

Week 1 was primarily getting my arse in gear, last week was getting my rhythm, this week I'm going to concentrate on my intensity and form. By the end of last week I was able to lower the volume and use the tv as a guide on what move was coming up next.

After seeing Million Dollar Baby yesterday I really really want to jump rope like a boxer.

See what I mean about being suggestible. *sigh*

On the wall in the gym was this quote, "Winners are simply willing to do what losers wont"

Wooo Hooo! No company again this afternoon, not even the ½ person. AND w/o even trying I beat my mileage of 8.12 from last Thursday by .12. Same pgm, same timeframe. I rule!

I'm really digging stretching, but it's extremely challenging for me. I can take killer lunges and burning abs, but to sit still for more than a second? No way!

I am a multi tasker. On crack. Right now I have 30 open windows on my computer. Three Zero. And that's low since I just got online, I usually have the max open, about 50. While I'm surfing on blogexplosion...those 30 seconds? I'm doing something else.

The only time I sit still and really focus is when I'm watching a DVD or @ the movies. Then and only then do I let myself go and get involved in the story.

So stretching is difficult. I want to move, get things done or @ least fidget a bit. I'm trying though & I have lots of room for improvement. For one my breathing is very shallow. When she says breathe deeply I feel like I can't get any more air past my chest cavity. So I want to work on breathing from my stomach.

Stretching daily will be ideal, but I know me, I'm not doing that anytime soon. In the meantime I'll work on my breathing and relaxing. Maybe even look into mediating. I like being fidgety, it helps me get things done. Too bad even I burn me out @ times.

In honor of February is Heart Month, I'm going to add this icon to the end of all Journal entries. It will link back to this post for further info.

Ooooh I forgot to note this tidbit from yesterday's workout.

So I have 2 outfits I sweat in. In the AM b/c I feel a bit bold and want to look all trendy like the chicks in Fitness Magazine, I wear a sports bra (major flab exposure) and some fitted yoga pants. For that hour I can pretend I'm sporty & on a magazine shoot.

However in the PM, when I use the bike, I'm low key. I wear a baggy t-shirt and loose sweats or shorts. That time of the day I feel like I'm a superhero trying to conceal my morning identity. And since I'm biking I don't wear my running shoes or sports bra.

So yesterday's surprise of not being able to use the bike had many many repercussions. You see where this is going dontcha?

B/c I was in a rush when I got home, I quickly stuffed my feet in my generic sneakers w/o socks and pulled on my t-shirt w/no sport bra. The first few minutes I couldn't figure out why the maintenance men kept circling the gym like vultures.

I thought it was b/c they got kicks out gawking @ 3 girls getting their workout on. But now I'm thinking that my pounding away on the treadmill gave them quite a show.

Obvious note to self: make like a boy scout and always be prepared.

In other news, I've had to put the Daily 5 Game into early retirement. Breaks my heart too. *sniff* I started it to get myself motivated and focused to do 5 things daily: drink 55 oz water, eat @ least 1500 calories especially on the weekends, 5 am workout, walk 2.5 - 5 miles a day & walk 5 flights of stairs to break the elevator habit.

I'm doing each of those things like I wanted to, and not to say I'll never refer to it, but I've passed the point of needing to check it off to make sure I've gotten it done. I can always dust it off and bring it back if I feel myself getting wayward and sloth-like again.

Now I've just gotta figure out a way to reward myself w/some $$ so I can treat myself to a shopping spree when I make my goal or by the end of this year whichever comes first. I'm not too thrilled w/paying myself per pound dropped, so this will require some deep thought.

(boobies via Zorbs)

I had a feeling today was not going to be my day.

So I got out of a meeting late and peeled thru traffic to get to the gym only to find 2½ people already there. The ½ person? A teeny tiny widdle baby chillin? on the floor mat.

Her mama was on the bike, CURSES, & mama's friend was w/the weights. @ the last minute I figured I'd do a quick 20 min walk on the treadmill. I had no other choice really, but I so wasn't up for 30 minutes of walking.

I did the Fitness Test pgm level 5. That level peaks @ 3.8mph/8%. And today is the day I needed that exertion. Just so I could walk away the silly frustrations I've been harboring all day.

I said earlier that I've yet to feel that euphoric post-cardio buzz that makes me want to continue. But I do feel extremely clear headed when I'm done. A few minutes into the walk the today's date hit me, February 1st. Could this be the anti-New Years resolution crowd?

Since I lost out on the bike ride I decided to do both Slim in 6's Slim & Limber and Yoga. That is the perfectionist in me talking. I'm doing battle with her right now to keep from FREAKING out that I didn't do the 45 min walk this morning AND the bike ride this afternoon. She's trying to talk me into "making them up" later on. The rational part of me is telling her, look, shit happens, be flexible do something else and move on. Besides, if I get into that cycle of trying to make things up I'll start getting resentful.

So I only did Slim in 6's Slim & Limber and must say: THAT is what I'm talkin' bout.

It's perfect. Exactly what I've been looking for. It's only 15 minutes and she stretches everything. My neck was pretty tight after the walk, and since finishing Slim in 6's Slim & Limber I'm felt much much better.

Looks like there's more than one way to be flexible.

GAK! I inadvertenly set the mph @ 3.5 during Couch to 5k this AM. I couldn't figure out why I was a tad more winded than usual after jogging. I chalked it up to that strenuous [/end sarcasm] extra 30 seconds that I've added moving up from 60 to 90 secs. When I was done & logged my mileage, I saw last week I was @ 3.0, oh well. I've really gotta start reading my notes better. Then again I don't think str8 that early in the AM.

I've been jumping rope @ the end of my walks. Today I did it between figuring it makes more sense to get it down while my ♥ rate was still up vs. doing it after I did my cool down.

Let's see, a few other things I wanted to note: overall my endurance is improving, I realized today my skin wasn't itching like crazy as it was last Sunday, my fingers aren't exactly swollen, but the tips are really tight. I've been sipping water every few minutes I walk, but I may need to work on getting more in thruout the day.

Aside from the jogging time increasing on Couch to 5k, everything else stays this week. I'm going to tweak Ab Ripper 100 . Some of his lower ab moves has too much friction and aggravates my lower back. That's why I can't fully do Windsor Pilates, when she does that back roll thingy I lay on the mat and stare @ the screen w/a yea right look.

Instead of his moves, I'm stealing a few reverse crunches from Slim in 6 to work the lower abs.

Behind my left knee has been tight for a few days, I may start doing Slim & Limber @ the end of weight training this week. Yoga's been relaxing, but I think my muscles need the stretch a few times a week.

After a nice leisurely bike ride, that is really my excuse to watch cable and get a rare view of static free TV as I haven't had cable for years, I tried session 2 of Yoga Zone: Gentle Yoga