After four days off (FOUR! Damn snow storm!), I finally got back to the gym. Last week my amazing instructor Jenni (check her out here: Jenni: She's pretty much babe-alicious) promised we would do arms. But this is the great thing about Jenni- you both hate her and love her. Because we DID do arms. Oh yes. But we also did about a gazillion squats, a billion crunches, and my butt hurts so bad from keeping it clenched while laying back on the exercise ball and keeping my hips level with my shoulders that I'm pretty sure after the pain goes away I'll be able to crack a walnut between my cheeks. I managed to keep my heart rate in the fat burning zone the entire hour long class. She's amazing.
After class I knew I had to at least do my 3 miles on the treadmill, so I jumped on without delay. And here's where I get to my number one motivational tool for fitness: HAVE A FITNESS FRIEND. Seriously. For the past several months I have had a long distance fitness friend, Erin (you can read her blog here: Sh*t Just Got Real: A Fat Girl's Journey to Self Worth). We decided that we were going to run the Bolder Boulder together this May. With that in my head, I ran my ass off. Then I joined my gym with my friend Patti, so now I have two friends to keep me accountable. IT WORKS.
You see, when I am running at home, I'm thinking of Erin, who lives in Colorado and is used to the high altitude. Then I think about me trying to run 6.2 miles in said high altitude and dying. MOTIVATION. Plus, any time I want to cry or bitch or brag, I send Erin a text and she's always like "OMG you're awesome!" or "Wow, I really hate you right now!" (which is girl-speak for "I'm impressed"). She's always there for me, no matter what time it is. IT WORKS.
When I'm at the gym, I have Patti. Patti and I are at different levels, fitness-wise. She doesn't run, but I do. She knocks it out in group classes and is uber graceful from years of dance, I'm a klutz who trips over nothing and can't keep with the beat. But that's okay, because we are challenging each other. I NEVER would've taken a group class, but because she wanted to, I did. And I don't regret it at all. And because of me, she's started running on the treadmill and is going longer and longer distances every day. IT WORKS.
I was pretty gassed today, felt like I had no energy and was just exhausted, but within a half an hour I felt GREAT. I couldn't stop smiling, I was looking forward to my next workout, and I was really proud of myself. Was I tired? Oh yeah. Was I sore? Duh. But it was worth it. I'm really starting to love this whole "working out" thing. I am not seeing the scale move, I'm not feeling my clothes get looser, but I am feeling a psychological change within myself. I feel like, YES. I CAN do it! I can do anything I set my mind to. Because 6 months ago, I never would've believed I could run 6.5 miles, but now I can. I am excited for what comes next, whever that may be.
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