i'm back!

After too long of a hiatus from exercise and all things healthy, I'm getting back into the game for real. I joined a gym and I've been eating (mostly) well. Let's talk fitness first.

So I bought that Groupon for the pilates studio and I went to their Zumba Toning class. I liked it, but it wasn't as great as normal zumba at Studio Vida. Buuuuut I will definitely return to check out other classes and instructors. Especially because I have those discounted passes. Friday mornings will be Zumba, Saturday mornings are going to be Body Pump. I've never done Body Pump so I'm pretty excited to check it out.

I also joined Freedom Fitness here in town. My pal goes there, too, and the price is right - only ten dollars a month. I've been with her a few times and she's taught me some new strength training stuff. Once I learn my way around the weight room, I'm going to start going in the mornings before work. Mondays and Wednesdays I'm focusing on legs, Tuesdays and Thursdays are upper body days. I'll probably throw in one or two runs on those days, as well.

Speaking of running, I ran for the first time since Beach to Bay on Monday. I went to the gym with my mom while I was home and after I lifted I hopped on the treadmill and waited for her to finish. I decided to just run and see what happened. I kept it nice and easy, around 11 min/mile, and I was surprised to find out that I felt pretty great! I wasn't huffing and puffing like I thought I would be. I ran for twenty minutes, a little less than two miles. Not terrible for the first time back. Then I decided to be real crazy and doubled up my workout for the day by going to zumba in the evening. I had to get my Mario fix. HRM told me I burned 735 calories in the hour. Chyeaaaah! So Monday was intense - lifting, run, zumba.

Tuesday I woke up early and went to the gym with momma again. Focused on arms and did rows, curls, kick backs, etc. My arms are so weak, it's pathetic. I've gotta work towards changing that. I headed back to CC and got another semi-workout by unpacking and putting together my new room. Hey, I worked up a sweat so it counts!

Okay, so that's the fitness front. I'm feeling pretty confident and excited about keeping it up. So now for food. I've been loosely following the 'paleo' diet, which essentially is you eating like a caveman. Meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts. I'm not being ridiculously strict with it, but I feel pretty good so far cutting out almost all of my dairy and grains. The dairy needed to go anyways, I think I'm slightly lactose intolerant. And I don't eat a hell of a lot of grains anyways. But... you're not supposed to eat beans. Beans are going to be hard to let go so I'm sure I'll still eat them every now and then. I'm not going to even give it a second thought.

Okaaaay, so that's my plan. Build muscles, eat real food. And I'll leave this with this week's WWS:

• Sunday - swam, some lifting at home
• Monday - legs, ran 20 minutes on treadmill, Zumba
• Tuesday - upper body
• Wednesday - legs (maybe... having dinner at the house tonight and might not have time)
• Thursday - upper body (full body if legs don't happen tonight), run two miles
• Friday - Zumba
• Saturday - Body Pump

in the zone.

Tonight's run was fantastic. I ran with the man friend and we set out to do three miles. We kept a nice, slow, steady pace throughout. The weather was perfect, too. My breathing was totally controlled and I felt nice and strong. I think the small amount of speed work I've been doing is going to help my running overall.

I've never run with someone I'm 'dating'. It was kind of nice. It's a great way to spend time with each other and share the joy (hah) of running. Get those endorphins pumpin' together! We are going to try to make Mondays and/or Tuesdays our running days. We've got to get prepped for the relay in May!

So 3.07 miles under the belt, finished in 35:12, setting us at a 11:30ish min/mile pace. I felt like I could have gone forever. My heart rate dropped back to normal at a great rate, as well.

Then we came home and ate soup.

last run of the month.

And it was a good one. I decided to switch things up and run downtown today instead of sticking to the normal neighborhood route I do. I packed my running stuff this morning and brought it to work with me so I could fit the run in before I went home. I ran the entire seawall and up and down one of the T-heads. It was about 4.5 miles run in 48:09. I felt pretty good and peppy the whole time, plus it was beauuuutiful today. The weather was in the sixties and there was a nice breeze as I headed south, but not too windy to be unpleasant (like the race).

Heading into my last month of training, weeee! My 9.5 mile route is already mapped out for Saturday. Going all the way back to my house is 10 miles, so I have the option of stopping at 9.5 if I feel like death, or just finishing up the last half mile. We'll see how it goes! I have gummy bears ready to be consumed.

I'm still not feeling 100% but I'm doing my three mile run today, anyways. I feel much better than I did the previous two days. I've been getting enough sleep and eating really, really well and it's making me think... why don't I do this all the time?! I'm going to spend the rest of the month focusing on eating good, delicious, healthy foods and getting enough sleep and treating my body nicely. I think it's especially critical, now that I'm getting into the most intense part of my half marathon training. It's the last six weeks, the last thing I need is to be tired and improperly fueled.

Also, lately I've been thinking I want to shed some of these pounds. I didn't start running with that intention, it was mostly to feel better and test myself with a goal that seemed impossible but I knew was achievable (yet challenging). I know now, just over halfway through training, that I am capable of much more than I ever gave myself credit for. Now that I'm there mentally, I'd like to make things easier physically by losing some of my fluff. My tentative goal is to lose 15-20 pounds over the course of the next 'X' amount of time. Definitely by next year, but that's giving myself a lot of leeway.

The notion of losing weight isn't so much for vanity. I'm content with the way I look and I know that I'm strong and fit because, well fuck, I don't know a whole lot of people that run more than two miles. Mostly I just want to treat my body better and feed it with quality foods and incorporate exercise into my daily life, not just for training purposes. I know that I will feel better mentally and physically, and when you feel good the world is just a brighter place.