Another week is over which means there are only 3 left. That's only 6 workouts with Team Castanet. When I started this back in January, April seemed like such a far ways off and yet here we are only a few weeks away. I've started trying to formulate my plan for after this. Right now all I know for sure is that I've signed up for Stephanie's boot camp. Meeting with Stephanie and a team once a week seems like a good transition. I know that I don't ever want to have to start all over again and go through those first two weeks. Those were the toughest ever.
Our Monday workout was leaning towards strength training. As I was trying to keep my balance on an exercise ball while lifting weights, I thought to myself, "The cardio has to be coming." I was so right! I'm not sure how many sets of stairs we did that night including hopping up them, but it was a lot. Thinking back to the beginning, I could never have done what I did Monday night way back when.
On Tuesday I needed to come up with some sort of challenge for myself. Stephanie usually gives us challenges each week but this week it was to be our choice. I decided to venture out on the Greenway and try to run as much as I could. I woke up that morning to snow!! I couldn't believe it but when I packed my gym bag, I packed clothes for the gym and clothes for the Greenway. I'm glad I did because by the time I finished work it was beautiful out. I started at the big bridge and headed all the way to KLO and back. It is somewhere between 4.5 and 5km and I did it in under 40 minutes. I did discover that running outside on a trail is much harder than running on a treadmill. Wednesday was just as nice outside so I did the same routine again although this time I was able to run steady for the first 10 minutes. I did wonder on the way back why both ways seem to be uphill!
Our team workout on Thursday started with a spin class. I'm so glad that Stephanie has done these classes just for us. I don't think I'd ever try it with a group that does it regularly. I still find it difficult but I enjoy the opportunity to be pushed out of my comfort zone. After 30 minutes on the bikes, (how does anyone handle those seats for an hour?), we went upstairs. I don't think I was the only one who was expecting some strength training, but we were wrong. We did more cardio including pushing a weight across the floor, burpees, and stairs. All I can say is that we worked as hard as we ever have.
I took Friday off. I'm not sure why I felt like I needed it but my legs were sore and I was tired. It was a very long week for me. Stephanie has talked all about balance and I'm trying to learn that lesson. Its far too easy for me to swing from one extreme to another and in the process exhaust myself.
On Saturday I got up and started to wonder what I was doing. I'm not sure why, but I was doubting myself as to how far I have actually come in regards to my fitness level. I can't deny the weight or inches I've lost, but with trying so many new things the last couple of weeks, I realized that I didn't have anything to compare my progress against. I decided to head to the gym and get on the treadmill. Remember? I know all those numbers. I got on the treadmill determined to see if I could do as well as I had the last time I just tried to run as long as I could. Well, I proved to myself that I have definitely made progress these last couple of weeks despite doing things other than the treadmill. I was able to run at 5.0 for 15 minutes which got me past the mile marker. (I ran for 10 minutes the last time I tried). I was so excited about that since I have been convinced ever since grade 7 that I would never be able to do that. I then alternated walking at 4.2 and running at 5 as much as I could so not including my warm up and cool down, I actually ran 50% of my time. I left the gym tired but happy that I had another measurement of my progress.
This week I've been trying to add more calories into my day. I'm getting in the habit of using Fitness Pal regularly throughout the day so that I can see how I'm doing and make adjustments. I've also tried to remind myself to enjoy how far I've come instead of looking ahead to how far I still want to go. I'm learning to balance my food intake with my exercise output, my need to push myself with being kind to myself and my strange desire to have numbers for everything with trusting that change is happening whether I can measure it or not. Thinking about all that makes me wonder how much change can one program jam into just 12 weeks? All I really know right now, is that I am incredibly thankful for all these changes, not just the weight and inches lost.
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