Skip to main content

My mind almost made me do it

Tonight's workout was THE hardest workout I've had since before pregnancy. It wasn't so much difficult as it was mentally challenging. And I struggled through the whole dang thing.

Our YMCA has this machine called "ActivTrax." The first day, a trainer goes around and measures your athletic ability and enters it into the computer along with your goals. Now, every time I go to the Y, I pull up my account, and it prints off a 30-minute conditioning workout that's formulated just for me and designed to help me meet my goals.

Today was day one. I worked out a little more slowly, because I was learning what the exercises were. I'm sure it'll continue like that for a couple weeks as I get the hang of it. The fun part? There are at least two personal trainers on staff and in the room at all times, and they approached me a couple times as I was looking at the exercise-explanation book thingy and asked if I wanted help or tips. It was awesome.

Our YMCA has 20,000 members, so there are a lot more amenities at this location than I've been used to in the past.

But anyway...

After the conditioning workout and daily challenge (I'm right with you, Cheri!), I hopped on the super fancy treadmill (opting to use one without an attached tv), and got to running. It was my longest run yet at 2 miles, which I was SUPPOSED to do yesterday but didn't have time. I don't think I've ever looked at the distance number so much in my life. I didn't think I was going to make it. So I took it a little bit slowly (slower than usual), and I finished. It may have been slow, but that didn't matter to me. I finished without walking once, even though my mind wanted to walk SO badly.

Getting back into the workout groove is difficult after taking so much time off. What was I doing while everyone else was staying active? It was kinda like this:



We signed up to do a parents/tot swimming class on Monday evenings. And on Friday evenings, I'm going to do a Group Power class. I'm going to get this body in gear if it's the last thing I do. Even if I do it at a snail's pace. But hey, today I ran farther than I did a couple days ago.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Title Goes Here"

I've had about a week to myself as my better half and kids went off on an adventure in Colorado. I don't remember the last time I had this much time to myself. Last week, I exercised the right side of my brain as frequently as I could. I finished two quilt tops and several random quilt blocks. I didn't exercise my body; my brain needed the attention. There's something immensely satisfying about cutting up fabric into smaller pieces, mixing it all up, piecing it back together, and creating something entirely different. It's my therapy. I listened to music loudly. I sat by the fire and stared at my phone for too many hours. I went on a quick work trip. I stayed up too late every night. I balanced the checkbook and paid bills. I made poor eating decisions and drank far too much coffee. Then today, I deliberately did nothing. No music. No creating. No makeup. I rested. I started reading a book. I watched a little t.v. And in the spirit of doing jac...
Post a Comment
Read more

This is FIVE

She slowly tiptoes out of her bedroom and pulls the door softly until it clicks closed behind her. Then boldly with purpose, she walks into our room, stands next to the bed, and taps me on my shoulder until I reach underneath her little arms, hoist her up, pull back the covers, and get her situated between us, snuggling in for the last 10 minutes of sleep. But today was a little different. The routine was the same, but instead of sleeping, there was way too much excitement. "Mommy, is it morning? Am I this many?" And she holds up a whole hand of fingers. FIVE. Not a toddler, not yet a big kid. She's that perfect in between. Oh, how I love this girl. I want to be more like her when I grow up. She loves fiercely. Listens quietly. Speaks up when she feels like she's being wronged. Nurtures like no other. Her favorite color is pink, but rainbow is a close second. On Monday, I asked her what she wanted for her birthday dinner. She chose the exact same thing we were eating ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Part 2: The Days That Followed

After reviewing my first post—something I rarely do hence all the typos and grammatical errors—I realized that I forgot one detail. Remember how I said the nurse didn't see any water after I told her I felt the "popping"? Turns out, Baby Girl was acting as a cork... the water broke behind her. So it didn't come out until she was delivered. I thought this was weird, though I'm sure it's not uncommon. Now enter the days that followed. That night, Toddler Boy, my parents, siblings and their spouses, and my in-laws came to visit. It was a late night, but it was so nice to have them there. Toddler Boy was really confused. He wouldn't talk to me and didn't want to sit in bed next to me. Of course, he was also in bed sleeping and then woken up to come to the hospital. (And I'm so glad he was. In hindsight, I would've been disappointed if he wasn't there.) My brother took some amazing photos, and eventually, our family left, and we turned out t...
2 comments
Read more