5K Update

The date for my final showdown with fitness is looming. Mark your calendars. I will be running my first 5K on Jan. 8.

Although some of my fitness plans have gotten derailed by my aching knee (and if I'm honest, a bit of laziness), I'm confident I'll be able to finish the race.

The knee still gets sore when I curl up for an extended period of time or when it's really cold out. I've run several times on it and all went well. I think everything will be fine, except for that lingering feeling that I must be getting O-L-D, because I have aching knees.

We're running through 11 countries of EPCOT's World Showcase, Fountain of Nations, Spaceship Earth and Leave a Legacy monument. At least I'll have some nice scenery.

I've been trying to mentally prepare myself for the race. I've been visualizing myself at various stages of the race and anticipating what I might be feeling or thinking. I've also placed some encouraging sayings (like: You can do it! Keep going!) near my desk at work so I can motivate myself. (I'm a cheeseball, I know.)

But, most of all, I'm just looking forward to finishing the race and saying: I did it!

Another Exercise Update...

So. Sore knee or not, I'm determined to shed the last of this weight.

Since I've been sidelined from Boot Camp, I've walked a 5K and (slowly) started running. I've done three one-mile runs near our house and my knee feels great. I'm definitely losing inches (my clothes are definitely baggier) and several acquaintances have remarked that I look great. Yay!

I considered signing up for another Boot Camp, but I'm worried that I'll do permanent damage to my knee. I think I'm going to skip it for now and continue running a few times a week and eating healthy.

According to my intake at the gym, I only need to lose 5 pounds of fat, but I'm supposed to add 19 pounds of muscle. I still can't fit into several of my pre-pregnancy pants, but I'm starting to rationalize and tell myself maybe they were too small anyway. My body is finally starting to get back to its original shape.

The holidays won't be helping much, but I finally feel like I've been successful. Now, if only Santa would bring me an all-expenses-paid shopping spree to replace some of those old clothes!

Updates

Ugh. I haven't posted lately because I just haven't had the time. Lame excuse, I know. This Boot Camp is really kicking my butt and managing a one-hour, grueling work-out with various house duties, dinner-making and general life-maintaining has not been easy. (Thanks to the Smartest Man Alive for picking up my slack.)

I do feel a lot better and more accomplished since I started Boot Camp. The first week I cried (seriously, I told you I hated exercise, right?!) but it's gotten much easier. I'm army-crawling under nets, running with jugs filled with sand, and lunging/crunching/ab-busting like my hair is on fire. So there.

During the course of last week, I did hurt my knees somehow. I'm not talking scraped, like ligaments or tendons or something REAL. I have an appointment with the doctor on Wednesday, but until then I'm sidelined. I hope he can give me a shot or something and send me on my way. I'm going to be seriously BUMMED if I can't finish this camp.

We went to the Pumpkin Patch last weekend and don't I have the cutest kid?

This adorable picture almost makes up for the fact that we only got FOUR trick-or-treaters. Seriously, what's up with that and what am I supposed to do with all that candy we bought?

Boot Camp Update

After nearly chickening out about a million times and mulling over a thousand excuses why I JUST CAN'T DO IT, I made it to Boot Camp Orientation today.

I survived. Barely. But, I signed up for the full one-month torture program and I'm proud.

The program is a combination of group exercise and a Boot Camp-style obstacle course, complete with army crawl, monkey bars, and a tire relay. After the workout, they gave us a crash course in healthy eating and took our "Before" pictures.

I will update you more when I can feel all my limbs and finally scrub all the dirt off my arms and legs.

Wish me luck.

Boot Camp

This Florida weather is enough to send me packing. The Smartest Man Alive insists that one winter in the Midwest and I would be begging for 90-degree weather and 100% humidity. However, we are breaking records here, people, and this is not conducive to my "MUST LOSE BABY WEIGHT NOW" plan.

I haven't written about this in a while, so let me update you. I have lost weight. Since I've decided all scales are unreliable, I don't know exactly how much. But, whatever. My clothes fit better, and really that's all that matters. Over the summer, I was walking at least a mile pretty much 6-7 days per week. Since school is back in session, my workout plan has greatly suffered.

I haven't been walking or otherwise working out in WEEKS.

Drastic action must be taken.

Then, I received an e-mail about a Boot Camp one of the gyms is offering near my home. It's $150 for one month of rigorous training programs and nutritional advice. You have to commit to three days and six miles per week. So, sign me up. This flab has got to go!

It's going to be hard to juggle work, home, and this program, but I feel like I need something to jump start my efforts again. I am not a self-starter when it comes to exercise. Really, I need a big, scary drill sergeant yelling in my face. While I don't think this program is THAT serious, it will work.

Update: Operation Must Lose Baby Weight NOW!

Operation Must Lose Baby Weight NOW! has been in full effect for about a month. I do feel a lot better and enjoy my time walking with my buddies. BUT -- I apparently have lost zero pounds. That's right: I haven't lost any weight even though I'm busting my rear-end waking up at 6 a.m. (during the SUMMER) and walking about 3 miles per day. I was about to blame this on a simple errant scale -- but I've weighed myself on several different scales and I'm afraid I'll need to accept the truth.

I'm trying to stay focused on the goal: Running the Disney 5K in January. But, things are getting desperate! I'm not the most patient of people when it comes to seeing results (or not).

I also have another dilemma: School is starting soon and I will need clothes to wear. Not just the flowy dresses and stretch pants I've been wearing all summer, but, like, professional clothes. I have informed the Smartest Man Alive that I will no longer be wearing maternity clothes. It has been far too long and I just refuse. So, a shopping trip may be in order. Even though I love shopping, I hate to spend a ton of cash on clothes I don't plan on wearing too long.

So tell me, how did you lose your baby weight? How long did it take?

Done!

• Thanks to the encouragement of my friends, I signed up for a Disney 5K -- my first race ever! Despite my hatred of all things exercise, I'm actually very excited about this. Cool Running has an excellent Couch to 5K training program that promises not hurt my fragile bones and/or muscles.

• In non-exercise news, Little Man has been, shall we say, asserting himself lately. And by asserting himself I mean: back-arching, screaming, hand-pounding, snot-coming-out-of-his-nose temper tantrums. Where has my sweet boy gone? Maybe it's teething, some new personality development, and/or frustration that he can't quite crawl yet. Whatever it is, for the sake of all involved, I hope it ends soon.

• The Smartest Man Alive and I have decided that the two most thrilling topics are....(drum roll, please)... poop and the invention of the bottle brush. We're pathetic. We know.

• School will be starting soon, so The Greatest Summer Ever is about to come to a close. I'm taking classes for the next week and then we only have a week left before heading back to school. (All you non-teachers can skip this whiny part.) I'm going to miss library time, visits with the family, and all-day snuggle fests. Good-bye summer, I'll miss you.

Craziness or brilliance?

I'm really getting serious about my working-out, exercising, losing-this-baby-weight business. I've been walking about 3 miles each morning and watching -- but not obsessing -- about my diet.

But, today Jennifer Lopez was on Rachael Ray talking about doing a triathlon after the birth of her twins (triathlon?! twins?! Are you crazy?). I thought: Well, triathlon, forget it! But, I could do a smaller race.

Now, let me be very clear here: I have never done such a thing before and the longest I've ever regularly gone to the gym has to be, probably, a week. But, here's a challenge and something new I've never tried before. I'm kind of pumping myself up for it, but I'm a little nervous.

What do you guys think? I think I've made it pretty clear that I do not particularly like working out, but it might be fun to do something totally different and I would have a goal in mind. Plus, this particular 5K is at Disney! Running friends and friends-who-like-working-out, what do you think? Is this craziness or brilliance?

Operation Must Lose Baby Weight NOW!

So. This post is overdue. This Operation is overdue. Logan was born in December and due to an enormous sweets craving that just would NOT be satiated during my pregnancy, I had lots of work to do. Correction: I HAVE lots of work to do. I just haven't really gotten around to it until now. I'm still wearing some of my maternity clothes (please do not think less of me) and some unwitting strangers have kindly asked me if I'm expecting. (At this point I would like to shout: HELLO?! ARE YOU CRAZY?! DO YOU NOT SEE THE SMALL INFANT I'M CARRYING AROUND HERE? IS IT SO IMPOSSIBLE TO THINK IT'S TAKING A BIT LONGER THAN I ANTICIPATED TO LOSE THESE EXTRA POUNDS?! But, I digress.)

So, much to my chagrin I have started exercising (gasp!) and eating smaller portions (double gasp!!). My goal is to lose the 20 pounds necessary to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight. You may be wondering why I am putting this out there and the reason is quite simple. I'm telling you so that there is actual written proof that I am doing this. I am notorious for joining a gym and vowing to attain Britney Spears-like abs (from the Baby One More Time days) and then NEVER going again. This greatly angers the Smartest Man Alive. The Money! The False Promises! The Britney Spears abs!

I would love to tell you how much progress I've made already, but I don't even own a scale. I really must get to the store.