Boot This

We are very fortunate to have a gym at work. This is the first company I have worked for that has offered an onsite fitness center, so I was beside-myself-happy when I toured my future digs before accepting the job offer and happened upon this beacon of light on the 8th floor with a panoramic view of the Capitol Building. Having a fitness center at work all but eliminates any excuse you can think of to not work out. Almost.

Now, before you conjure up images of Lifetime Fitness with saunas, steam rooms, hot tubs, and 6,000 machines and get super jealous of my situation (and I wouldn't blame you for that), let me bring you back down to earth. We're talking more along the lines of a set of nautilus machines, a few treadmills and bikes, free weights, a water fountain, and a racquetball court. It's not huge, it's not "state-of-the-art"...but it totally works for me. I spent a lot of quality time up on 8 during IM training and it has saved my day on occasions when I knew if I left the office to go home before starting my workout, I would never get the workout in. Sometimes the call of the couch trumps all.

Here's the new news: the fitness center is now under new management and after sending out a survey asking the employees what kinds of improvements we would like to see (ie, classes? training programs? personal trainers?) they are making some changes. Exciting changes. Last week kicked off a new class...Boot Camp.

In all of my anticipation for this new class, I managed to forget my workout clothes and had to sit the first day out. The next day, while waiting in the cafeteria sandwich line for my thrice-a-week BLT, I listened to several reports of numerous muscles hurting (particularly in the gluteal region) from pals who attended the inaugural session. Intrigued, I vowed to remember my threads this week.

So tonight at 5pm I was indoctrinated into the world of Boot Camp. Let me be honest here - prior to tonight whenever I thought of Boot Camp, I envisioned an Army Drill Sergeant screaming at the top of his lungs 2 inches from my face, spitting expletives, and reminding me how insignificant I am in the grand scheme of things. Oh - and maybe some harmonizing of the "I don't know but I've been told" variety.

It was none of that at Boot Camp today.

The instructor, while pushy and persistent, did not swear at us once. She was motivating & encouraging, and strangely not out of breath at all as she belted out the next sequence while demonstrating how to do it. And we did a lot - 3 kinds of abs, push-ups, 3 variations of boxing moves, squats with free weights, and wall sits. Lots of wall sits. Did I mention wall sits? There were so many, for so long, I feel the need to mention them several times.

In summary, I don't think Boot Camp is a good description. I prefer calling it Suffer Fest. I'm no expert, but I am pretty sure it won't help with marketing the class. "Hey, want to go to Suffer Fest with me Wednesday? It'll be great! I hear we're doing lots of WALL SITS!"

Jury is obviously still out on the intensity of my soreness after SF, but I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, I think I'll go lean against a wall for awhile.

A New Goal

I have succumbed to peer pressure. Several friends have signed up for the Madison Marathon on Memorial Day weekend...and have been gently suggesting I might want to do the same.

At first I wasn't sure. I want to do a marathon. That much I know. I signed up for PF Chang's RnR right after Ironman and it should go without saying, that didn't work out. In my post-Ironman daze I would've signed up for anything - well, anything except another Ironman. Not that I don't want to do that again someday. Sure, someday. But I figure it might be akin to having a baby. The waiting, the getting ready, the big day arrives...

Can you imagine if right after you go through 16 hours of labor someone turns to you and says, "Want to have another one next year?"

Ummmm...I think I'd like to just enjoy this one for awhile, thanks.

Running a marathon though? Absolutely. No problem. Until it came time to train and I'll be the first to admit - I fell into a bit of a post-Ironman slump and didn't have any kind of motivation to train. Looking back I can see that the signs were prevalent. Once the goal was passed, the champagne uncorked, the medal hung around my tired and exuberant neck...all I wanted to do was rest. Sleep in. Put my feet up. Watch a lot of TV. Become a couch potato.

My surgery didn't help. It delayed training for about a month, but that's not a good excuse. My lack of motivation ran deeper than that. It was a tinge of sadness mixed with a lack of focus. After focusing on one thing for so long, I couldn't get my mind to focus on much of anything.

So, PF Chang's came and went. A very good friend traveled from Madison to Phoenix and ran it without me. That made me more sad, but it also served as a wake-up call. No more excuses. No more "I'll start again tomorrow". No more wandering around aimlessly with no direction.

And so, I've given in. Last night I fired up Training Peaks and said "Show me the marathon plans. I'm ready."

Or at least I have 17 weeks to get there.

The 8th wonder of the world...

It's so strange, but it appears that hot chocolate actually seems to taste even better when it's in this mug.

New Beginnings

I don't usually talk politics. Not even with my nearest and dearest. To me, politics are personal just like religion, and such personal topics are dicey to discuss, fraught with passion, and unless the conversation is purely educational - it seldom ends well.

On the other hand, I don't remember an Inauguration ever this big, so I feel a little talkative. Not in a way that should progress my beliefs or enforce my agenda, but simply to capture the enormity of today and the feelings it evokes.

What a day. Excitement is in the air and hope is overflowing through the cracks of our recession-weathered society.

I didn't get a chance during the work day to see any of the footage so I am watching tonight in the comfort of my living room, and it is emotional.

If only we could bottle the feeling today. After the party dies down, this President has a lot of work to do. A huge turnaround effort. The kind of workload that keeps you up at night or wakes you up in a cold sweat. Today's celebration, support, love, trust, optimism...he's going to need some of that over the next four years. And we Americans are a fickle bunch. We giveth and we taketh away. We're impatient. We want change and we want it now. I just hope we can hang on and wait this one out - it's going to be a rocky ride but we have to believe in the direction we are going.

It's a new era and a good day for America. A really good day.

OUCH!

After the New Year's Day bike ride and the subsequent return to work, I came to a startling realization.

I have apparently gained a few pounds.

Seemingly overnight.

When Monday morning rolled around and I reached for the unforgiving work pants vs. the oh-how-I-love-thee jeans...things were a little snug.  

IronMin doesn't do snug.

In accordance with the annual "New Year, New You" mantra, I got back on the wagon and off my butt this week.  It started on Monday with 45 minutes on the treadmill.  Then I called the treadmill doctor and our conversation went something like this:

Uh, my treadmill is broken.

What seems to be the problem?

The timer is slow.  Really slow.

What do you mean?

Well, it only counted 45 minutes today and I'm absolutely certain I was on it much longer.

How do you know?

I just know.  I know what 45 minutes feels like.  45 minutes on the internet...45 minutes of watching TV...45 minutes of reading.  These things pass by quickly and easily.  That was not 45 minutes on the treadmill.  

Ummmm, Ma'am - I don't think it's your treadmill.  It's you.  You're out of shape.  It will get easier.  Get back on it more than once a month and you'll see.

I hung up.  Ok, I would've hung up if I had really called the treadmill doctor but I knew the truth way before I considered dialing the number.

Switching gears, last night I tried something new - Yoga.  In my living room.  About a hundred years ago I purchased a couple of Yoga tapes at Target, and somewhere along the way I opened one and left the other still in its package.  I don't remember why, nor do I remember trying the beginner tape.  Maybe I didn't.  Maybe I just opened it and changed my mind. 

And in case you didn't catch that - I did say 'tape'.  As in VHS - that ancient technology you can hardly find anymore...except that we own a lot of movies on VHS, including our wedding video, so in our house the VCR still exists.  It wasn't, however, hooked up to the TV so after 30 frustrating minutes plugging this, that, and the other thing into any opening I could find on the TV, I FINALLY had it up and running.

And thus began the hour of power.  And today I'm paying for it.  I have soreness where I didn't know I had muscles.  But I want to do it again.  

I learned the child pose, triangle, downward dog, mountain pose...and several more but I can't recall the names.  It was fun, if not a bit hokey.  I enjoyed the stretching and relaxation but it was hard to get past the strange bell and chime music in the background and the syrupy-sweet voice coupled with the blank stare of the woman on the video.  Sometimes I just had to stifle a laugh, and I'm pretty sure that's not allowed in a Yoga class.  Of course, the tape is from the 90's so perhaps a more contemporary version wouldn't be as awkward.  

I think I want to go to an actual class as well.  As soon as I'm more comfortable with the tape...I'm taking it public.  In the meantime, OUCH!   

Happy New Year!

Any year that starts like this:

Is bound to be a good year.

Sorry I've been out of blogland for a bit. The holidays were busy between a trip to Michigan for Christmas and a trip to Sioux Falls for New Year's. It's been a wonderful couple of weeks with family and friends, and now I return to the rest of the world well-rested and ready for new challenges.

Thanks to my peeps for the supportive comments on my last post before the holidays in which I lamented the beginning of another long, arduous winter. Some may call it whining, but I prefer 'lamenting' because truthfully, it just sounds so much more mature. I am done lamenting for the time-being, but before I quit can I just throw out these last few words? Ice Storms Suck.

That covers this morning's weather drama in Madison.

And now, I'm done. I promise.

I want you to know, I have taken your advice to heart...I vow to find a winter sport. I am certainly open to trying new things. As long as the outside temperature is above 25 degrees Fahrenheit...I will attempt some form of true winter sport. So far I only have one and it's rather infrequent. I usually go downhill sking about 1x each year, although there are 2 issues with this form of winter sport: Issue #1 - I am really, really bad at it. No, really. The last time we went I crashed (that's not the newsy part), then proceeded to have a mini-meltdown in the middle of the medium difficulty hill. I couldn't get back up on my skis and I lost my poles so I had to scoot around on my butt to retrieve them. Then I went down the rest of the way, still on my butt, while holding my skis in one hand and my poles in the other. Not my finest moment, and certainly not my husband's proudest. I believe at one point in utter frustration and embarassment, I gave up and just let my skis slide down the hill for him to grab. I'm certain it took all the strength he had in him to stand at the bottom of the hill and wait for me to sled down vs. the much more appealing option of snickering with the other skiers at the base before shushing or sashaying or shwooshing away (whatever good skiers do) to get on the next chairlift. Just another reason I happen to think he's a keeper. Oh, and Issue #2 - We don't really have mountains in the Midwest, so our downhill skiing is not really on par with the sport of downhill...or what happens in Aspen or Vail. But I think it still counts, right?

Not sure when I will downhill ski this year, so in the meantime I am on the hunt for another winter sport. I'll keep you posted.

I am happy to report, per the picture at the start of this blog, we began 2009 with a brisk winter bike ride in Sioux Falls on January 1. Temps were in the low 20's, but we had a good time. The sun was shining, the falls were mostly frozen, and I must admit - it was the first time I had been on a bike, outside, since Ironman. And it felt good. I totally get that phrase "just like riding a bike". It should've felt completely foreign after all this time, but instead I fell right back into it without incident.

Now on to the rest of 2009...what will the year bring? I'm still working on a plan of attack but I know swimming, biking, and running will be part of it. And maybe a few more surprises.