Boston Market

So for the past 9 weeks or so, I've been doing this boot camp class 1 or 2 times a week. For the first 5 week session, I did Saturday's only, and let me just tell you- that first week kicked my ass. The instructor Sonki said that he'd been teaching the class for like 5 years, and only 3 people had puked in that entire time. And all of them had been guys. Well, ladies and gentlemen, let's just say the count is now up to at least 4, and that it is now no longer a male only distinction. It was ROUGH, and I was sore for DAYS. I used muscles I forgot I had. But it has gotten easier, and after that first 5 week session of Saturdays, I decided to go through another round of boot camp; this time going Tuesday/Thursday evenings.

The thing about me and exercise, is that I'm always glad I did it when it is over- I always feel really good and healthy and all that. But about 5 minutes into whatever workout I'm doing, I have this inner monologue that starts SCREAMING in my head "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS???? YOU HATE THIS!!!" About that time, the only thing I can do to quiet the inner monologue is to start reasoning with it. I start off reminding my inner voice that in a mere 55 minutes, I will feel really good, and I will be glad I've done whatever it is that we're doing. That lasts for about 3.5 minutes, and then I have to start bargaining with my inner monologue. Most Tuesdays and Thursdays, this bargaining usually comes down to promising myself that I will stop at Boston Market on my way home. If it is a good day, that's all it takes, and I get turkey with mashed potatoes and either green beans or steamed veggies. Sometimes, like tonight, my inner monologue really would just rather be at home on the couch, and I have to break out the big guns. Tonight I had to promise myself the creamed spinach, which I feel like cancels out any healthiness I just earned by working out, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do when you are in the moment.

Week 1's run= DONE!

So I've completed what many people say is the hardest part- the getting started! We had our first run this morning at 7:30 AM- let me just tell you- I think the last time I was awake at 7:30 AM was, well... I'm going to have to think about that and get back to you.

When I first got there, we spent the first 30 minutes kind of milling around- meeting people and picking up our work out jersey. All in all, there were probably 100+ folks there- I'm terrible at estimating crowds so it could be more than that, I'm not sure. There were at least 100, though. After the 30 minutes of milling around, we stretched and they did introductions of all the coaches and mentors. Then they split us into beginners, intermediate and advanced groups. I went with the intermediate, and I held my own pretty well- I think I ran a little too fast at first because i was running with a girl who was somewhat speedy, but I kept up OK. The beginner group did 3 minutes of running with 2 minutes of walking for 30 minutes, my group did 5 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking for 30 minutes, and the advanced group ran continuously for 40 minutes. Then we did some more stretching and that was it! Not a bad first effort- I'm jazzed and I definitely was not the slowest person there, which I was happy to see. Not that it is about being the fastest, but I didn't want to be holding folks up.

So there you go! Week 1, down, just about 19ish to go!

So I thought I'd give this blogging thing a shot...

All the cool kids seem to be doing it, so I thought why not give it a try?

My main motivation actually came from the fact that I've decided to train for a marathon, and I thought some folks might like to keep up with my progress. I know, I know, anyone reading this who knows me is probably thinking- SHE is going to run a marathon? Trust me, I'm thinking the same thing about half the time. But about 9 months ago, I thought I'd never be able to run a 5k, and after training for about 8 weeks, I did that. So I figured, let's set the bar a little higher. I'm not one do to things halfway, so I'm pulling out the big guns and setting my sights on 26.2. I'd originally planned on a 1/2 marathon, but I decided I'd need to train with people either for either distance, and picked Team In Training (TNT) who raises money for Leukemia and Lymphoma. At the first informational, they were so encouraging and so many of those folks had run the whole enchilada, that I thought Heck- I can do that. So I'm going to aim for the marathon. If I start my training and realize I'm crazy, I may downsize to the 1/2, but I figure I should at least shoot for the stars to start out with. I really think I can do it though- It's more mental than anything else, and I think if I do the training right, I can do it. I'm not going to run it for time- I just want to be able to cross the finish line and say that I've done it.

My first training run with TNT is this Sunday- I'll blog about how that goes once it is over.