30 Day Shred, Level 1, Day 1

You need the long story to appreciate the short one...
Last night, husby and I went for a nice 4-mile'ish bikeride together, and then I ran 2.5 miles with my running buddy a few hours later. My legs had a nice tingle to them - the kind of "TIRED" that I love to feel when I'm climbing into bed. My sweet husband made me a yummy protein shake that I swallowed before bed, and all was well....

Until I remembered that I am committed to starting the 30 day Shred with a bunch of facebook buddies! I lay in bed last night thinking about how proud I am of myself for becoming a runner, for taking better care of my body, and for committing to go from "obese" to "normal" on the BMI chart. And I found myself excited about starting the 30 day shred. Yes, excited. I lost a little sleep thinking about my awesomeness, how's that for subtle and humble? I lost a little more sleep thinking about the next 30 days and how I will not give up thanks to my bunch of friends that are doing this with me. And I lost a ton of sleep thinking about how in the HELL I'm going to fit a workout into my Wednesdays each week.

Wednesdays have been quite nice for me because I get to sleep in a little longer and the day is jam packed with fun - so it goes by quickly. When the weather is nice, I like to walk Julia to school (about 1/2 mile round trip) and then I like to take the kiddos to a park or something. After work, we hurry hurry to eat dinner and then it's off to dance class for Julia. While J is in dance class on Wednesdays, I used to hop across the street to the gym that I belong to and do a quick 30 minute workout, then hop back, pick up my tired danced-out 4 year old and hurry hurry home to watch LOST with the hubs.

Now thanks to the ruthless Jillian Michaels, I'm gonna have to alter my Wednesday gig a little bit. I'm going to have to wake up early so that I can squeeze in a 20 minute torture before the kids wake up. (Because, really? Who wants to do pushups, butt kicks, and bicep lunges with an 18 month old jumping on you?)...

Being the committed gal that I am, I happily set my alarm this morning for 6:15, thinking that if I got started by 6:25 or so, I'd be done long before 7 when the kids wake up. I could even squeeze in a worlds-fastest-shower! Strangely, when my alarm rang this morning, I responded to it instead of throwing it on the floor like I usually do... excited, much? I got up, got my workout clothes on and headed down the stairs....

But before I got there, guess who greeted me in the hallway? Two very energetic, non-sleepy, up-early cute little girls. UGH! Seriously? Todays a big day for momma, you should TOTALLY sleep in. I talked them into staying in their beds for 30 minutes. Even Rebecca, my 18 month old, stayed in her bed awake until I was done punishing myself for all the fat I've consumed over the last 10 (or so) years.



OK - on to my review of this mornings workout...

OUCH! But, in a good way of course. I rolled my eyes at Jillian within the first five minutes of the workout. She pushes hard, but she's extremely motivating. She reminds me constantly that if I want results, I'm going to have to work for them. It helps to remember that Jillian has worked with 400+ pound people before and they've had great results. It's just a matter of ignoring the pain, ignoring the urge to stop, ignoring the TIRED for just 20 minutes out of my day. 20 minutes! That's it. I can do ANYTHING for just 20 minutes... that was my attitude this morning, anyway.

Jillian did make me giggle when, toward the end of this morning's workout, she said "Now those of you who are on days 5, 6, or 7... you're probably seeing some great results in your stamina.." I rolled my eyes and even had a brief yet serious thought of flipping her off. Hah!! On day 5, I'm gonna be one sore mama.... but she's probably right, my endurance will probably be much better.

At the end of my workout, I grabbed a boiled egg, told the girls to get out of bed (and thanked them a hundred times over for letting me have 30 minutes to myself this morning), made them some oatmeal, and took the-worlds-fastest-shower while they ate. Then, we rushed out of the house, took the 1/2 mile walk to drop J off at school, and when I got home - I had about 20 minutes to SIT DOWN. Holy cow. Sitting down = great. Getting back up again = not so great.

Ah, but the day went on and I'm feeling great. My theighs and shoulders are feeling it the most. It's only day one... I honestly don't know if I'm going to make it 30 days without stopping. My facebook friends are THE BEST. They keep me motivated, get me excited, and remind me that I'm not alone! It's not too late to join us!