Jillian Michaels Lives In My Treadmill…

Well, not really…  But through the use of some very cool technology, her voice now coaches and encourages me through a huge variety of walking, and eventually running, workouts.  And if you know me, you’ll know that nothing motivates me better than having a new toy to play with.

My treadmill is compatible with a device called iFit Live.  I ordered it last week, and it arrived today.  I signed up on the site and got the device configured, and now I can select from a huge variety of workouts, tours, and races.  They’re uploaded automatically to the treadmill, I select the one I want, and go.  I can even watch the scenery on my computer or TV as I walk, if I so choose.

Tonight, I started Level 1 of the Weight Loss program.  Pretty easy stuff, but I can also adjust the difficulty of the workout if I so choose.  This time around, I just stuck with the basic program, to get a feel for how the thing works.  There are actually four of these  programs – Weight Loss, Basic Walking, Fitness/Maintenance, and Performance.  Each one has like 15 levels, each consisting of 24 different workouts.

The device works quite nicely with the treadmill, extending the number of programmed workouts pretty much infinitely, thanks to a feature that lets you map a route online anywhere in the world, upload to the treadmill, and take that walk – even including the passing scenery if you want, thanks to a nice integration with Google Maps.  The website is pretty basic at this point – there is a fair bit of room for enhancements like better integration with the iFit workouts and the tracking tools and perhaps some social networking-type features like competing with friends and discussion forums.  I like the calorie balance feature – it gives a graphic representation of how much is going in vs. how much you’re burning.

All in all, I’m pretty pleased with my purchase – I really think it will motivate me to be more active!

Crashed and Burned…

I’m not sure just when or why I lost my focus; I know that I did.

I strongly suspect that it was when I went head-over-heels during my cooldown after my last walk-to-run session, nearly three weeks ago.  After that, I started using the resulting soreness and bruising as reasons to skip further workouts, citing a need to heal thoroughly before venturing out again.  I managed to keep up on my pushups program for another week or so after that, but I let it fall by the wayside, too.

I’m doing my best not to come down on myself for this fall; however, I know that it’s only my fault, and I have a hard time NOT coming down on myself.  I’ve always been a perfectionist, and have a lot of difficulty with letting the small stuff go by.

I also have a difficult time sharing my issues – I have definite problems with trust.  I’m going to do my best to overcome this, and set myself a task to become more involved with the support communities that are available to me.

Now, I’m feeling pretty good physically, and my mental and emotional states are pretty good, too.  I don’t have to worry about stumbling on a sidewalk for a bit, either – my DH bought me a shiny new treadmill, which I fully intend to break in tomorrow!

OK, I’m feeling better now, and ready to get started again…  Off to sleep, for a good night’s rest!

Fell On My Head…

So, I guess I pushed it a bit too far too fast…  Or maybe all the walking I did to get to my client site and my polling place detracted my ability to recover from Monday’s attempt at jogging.  At any rate, my legs have been sore today!  So are the muscles in my chest, from doing pushups last night and Sunday, but that has little to do with my decision to not make the second attempt at jogging this evening.

I found out today that I will be showing a coworker around one of our most fitness-friendly job sites – the Oakland Zoo.  We’ll be spending close to two hours walking throughout the park, up and down the hilly paths – probably end up doing close to four miles.  After that, we’re headed to San Francisco, to another job site with about a mile round-trip walk from public transportation.  To top it off, our work dress code does not permit me to wear the most appropriate shoes for all of this walking.  My feet were unhappy enough this morning – I’d like to keep them working as well as possible.

Given all of this, I chose not to attempt a walk-to-run session tonight.  However, instead of just skipping it, as I might have previously, I’ve decided to rearrange the workout schedule to accommodate the demands of my job (and get in some extra walking at the same time).  I’ve taken today as my rest day instead of Saturday.  I will do my third pushups workout for the week after I get home tomorrow.  Running sessions will take place Friday after work, and Saturday morning, so that I still get three of those in for this week.  Three pushups workouts, three running workouts – that’s the weekly plan.

I’ve also realized that I should probably start off a bit more slowly on the walk-to-run program.  Next session will be five intervals sets of one minute jogging and five minutes walking.  I’ll see how I feel after that before I decide what the next one will be.  Eventually, I WILL get to where I can successfully complete that first workout on the official program!

Boy, Have I Got My Work Cut Out For Me!

It’s been suggested that running may be the closest thing a human being can get to natural flight…

To that end, I’ve decided to give it a try.  Of course, the additional benefits to my physical, mental, and emotional health wouldn’t hurt, either…

Tonight, I started a 13-week walk-to-run program.  Tonight’s workout was meant to be a 5-minute warmup, followed by 12 intervals of running for one minute and walking for two, finishing with a cooldown and some stretching.  When I started, I had grand designs, thinking, “Oh, this shouldn’t be too difficult!”

I couldn’t be more wrong – I made it through four intervals before dragging my sorry overweight out-of-shape butt home, wheezing and panting nearly the whole way.

When I got there, I worked through my list of recommended stretches…  By the time I finished, I actually felt pretty good!

Thinking about it, I may have to reconsider my plan to run a 5K at the end of January…  But you know what?  I’m still gonna try to do it sometime early next year – it might take a bit longer than I initially thought, but I WILL do this!

Instead of moving forward into the second scheduled workout for this week, on Wednesday, I’m just going to try the same one again – maybe then, I can make five intervals!

To Defy Gravity

Do you dream of flight?  I do…

Not in some tin can or other man-made contraption, but under my own power, as birds and wizards do.

My takeoffs are ungainly, with tremendous flapping of arms, but eventually I begin to soar…

These are the dreams that  leave me regretting their end – I wake from them reluctantly, but more content and relaxed than others I have had.

I so desire to find some activity in my waking life that allows me to achieve such joy…  such exhilaration…  such bliss…

To that end, come this new month, I begin to try something new – tomorrow is my pre-flight check-in.

Prepare for take-off…

Insomnia

Tonight, my mind will not let me rest, though I am physically, mentally, and emotionally drained.  It’s been three hours now since I put head to pillow…  My thoughts refuse to stop, racing through my head seeking escape.

Perhaps putting them to paper (so to speak) will allow me to escape into the sleep I so desperately need to succeed this week.

Today was a mildly stressful day; not the worst by far – I suspect that is yet to come, as I push myself to finish what has been put off for far too long.  In the end, I hope to be able to say that I’ve achieved at least one of the goals I’ve set myself for this year, and that in itself will be a huge relief.

Ah, I feel the miasma in my head beginning to subside even as I type this…

Time to post, and to begin the task of releasing the other beast of words that restlessly paces inside my brain tonight!

And so another passes...

Tomorrow means I have lived yet another year...

I've seen some changes over the past 365 days, both in my world and in myself.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to experience the kind of profound wonder in my surroundings that I have not felt in quite some time, and challenged myself to reach new heights, both literally and figuratively.  This came at the urging of someone I hope will become a good friend, and that I like and respect, and has given me a goal that I truly feel good about.

I plan to do my best to be younger than my calendar!

Just Testing Something

Just wanting to test a new cybertoy...

20100408 - I am here

So it begins...