And Away We Go

This evening I'm doing my first run with the Flying Pig Marathon training group that I've signed up with.



I'm feeling a little intimidated by the goal that I've set for myself. Sometimes I think "no problem, I can SO do this!" Other times it's more of a "WTF am I thinking?" mentality. It seems to vary day to day and mile to mile. I feel like I'm just randomly guessing at what I should be doing, so having some sort of set schedule and people who I can go to for advice on pacing and eating will be good for me. I tend to thrive in that kind of structured environment, which is why P90X worked so well for me. I'm hoping that I'll be successful this time around, too.

I keep telling myself that it's ok if I only end up running the half marathon, but I know the overachiever in me will be disappointed. For the time being, I'm going to pretend that option doesn't exist. That could all go to hell in a handbasket next week, but we'll just take it one day at a time :)

Statement of Accountability

Five months ago I watched some of the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon on TV, and thought "Hey, I can do that!" I think husband Charlie thought it was a phase, and that I'd forget about it within a week or two.

Five months later, I still want to do it. And I still think I can. So now I'm researching marathon training and running groups, and next month I'll be going to an information session for one of the most popular ones in our area.

And I'm going to do it. I'm going to train to run a full marathon, and if I get to race day and I feel like I can only run a half, then that will be ok.

So why am I telling you this? Because if it's on the interwebs, it has to be true. So there it is, my accountability.

I swear, that's the only thing that got me through P90X. It's going to get me through this, too. Sad, but sometimes I succeed only because I don't want to let other people down.

That and I want a bumper sticker....

P90X 90 Day Pictures!

The much-anticipated 90 day pictures are here! Like the 60 day pictures, I took them in the evening, but I think the pooch was minimized. I'm very happy with my results. Big thanks to Coach Lynn! Visit her blog for all of your health and fitness needs. She's pretty awesome when it comes to all things exercise-related and has been around the blocks of many fitness programs. I owe it all to her :)

(again, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them. this time you'll be amazed by my awesome farmer's tan rather than blinded by total whiteness.)











We started round 2 on Sunday because we're crazy ready for more. I wish that I had seen more results in my "buttal area," but I think that might be partly due to the fact that we did the Lean version the first time around. This time we're going with the Classic, interspersed with P90X+ DVDs. Can't wait!

Random Bathing Suit Vent

P90X is over today! I can't believe we made it through the whole thing. Round 2 starts next week!

I went bathing suit shopping for our trip to Alabama because I needed a new basic black boyshort bottom to wear with my black top. My old one hasn't fit since pregnancy. It was a size small. What did I end up buying? A large. I know I shouldn't get hung up on the size, it's only an artificial label, but I did just complete P90X and I think I'm in decent shape, maybe the best shape I've ever been in, so that gets a big WTF from me. Damn pregnancy hips.

P90X - in the home stretch!

We're finally in our last week of P90X! I can't believe we've made it all the way through. We'll take our 90 day pictures Friday morning. I don't know how much progress I'm going to see between my 60 day pictures and my 90 day pictures, since this last set of workouts was heavy on the pull-ups and I still can't do a single freaking one, but I'm still very happy with what I've seen so far.

We're going to take next week off while we visit family in Alabama and I get started with my new job, and then we're starting another round, P90X Classic this time, with the P90X Plus tapes mixed in to stave off the boredom. I'm also asking for Insanity for my birthday, which will be about a week after we finish Round 2. Whee!

P90X in Chicago

So, I'm back in the 'Nati. It never gets any easier to hear the pilot welcoming us to Cincinnati. Not that it's a bad city or a bad place to live, it's just not the greatest place in the world. Oh well, it is what it is.

The whole reason for going to Chicago was to give a fancy presentation at a fancy conference for public opinion research aficionados. The slogan for this year's conference was awesome: Freqs and Geeks.

I went with my co-worker/friend/P90X coach and we had planned on buying the conference t-shirt because the slogan was just so freaking fantastic. Unfortunately they only had them in large and extra-large, so we were forced to do without. We decided to commission an Etsy artist to make us our own custom shirts because we're geeks like that. I can't wait for them to get here.

The first night we were there we ate Chicago Pizza. So much for sticking to the P90X diet while I was there. I rationalized it by pretty much not eating anything for the entire day before pizza time, which I realized was probably a mistake after we met an old friend of mine for a drink and I was feeling pretty loopy halfway through my single Blue Moon.

Of course, it rained the entire freaking afternoon on Wednesday and pretty much most of the morning on Thursday.

In between the torrential downpours we wandered through part of Chicago.

We visited the American Girl store to see how badly Mattel ruined the brand.

Lynn was sad that all of the dolls had tiny yappy dogs and there were no Whippets or larger dogs to be found. I was sad that they discontinued the Kirsten collection. We were both sad that American Girl Place features a doll beauty salon, where you can get the doll's hair styled for the low, low price of $20.

We ate leftover pizza for lunch and then gave our super awesome presentation. It went pretty well, if I do say so myself. I think it was well-received, even though most of our audience leaned heavily toward the academic side of things and wouldn't know a web panel if it bit them on the ass.

After the presentation we did Core Synergistics. Yes, I did my P90X while I was out of town. Tony would be proud.

Of course when Friday morning came around it was bright and sunny, since that was the day we were leaving.

This was how sunny it was at 5:30 AM Chicago time. I love it!

Sure looks different in the sunlight.

This is quite possibly the cleanest city waterway I've ever seen in my life.

Yum!

All in all, it was a nice 48 hours. I wish we had more time to spend there, since we really didn't get to do or see anything fun. I told C that we'd definitely be making a weekend trip at some point. I'd drive up there just for the pizza.

Oh, and you know how sometimes you come back from a trip and you get to work and there's a list a mile freaking long of things that you need to do as soon as you get back? Yeah, that kind of sucks, doesn't it?

P90X - Week 10 Completed

17 days to go! And then we get to do it all over again!

Someone needs to do a Mystery Science Theater version of P90X. How could you not, with Tony quotes like "Hamburger bad, fries bad, coca-cola bad… There I said it. Drink your water people," "We're all auditioning for the cover of Downward Dog Magazine," "Like a pterodactyl backing out of trouble! Ka-kaw!," and possibly the best of all, "We don't do spray on, this is real. We do actual DNA removal." Um, ew. But I don't mind the pterodactyl comments because it reminds me of XKCD and the raptor invasion.

It's all worth it though, because I have actual abdominal muscles that you can see.

Still no pull-ups. Sigh.

P90X - Week 9 Completed

24 days to go!

I did another half pull-up yesterday. That was my big accomplishment. We rearranged our schedule last week and bumped our off day to Saturday. We have a few weekends this month packed with activities so it will be much easier to get things done if we don't have P90X looming over our heads. That and I'll be able to enjoy naptime again, rather than spending the 90 minutes working out and showering.

I've discovered that I very much prefer to exercise at night. Actually, I take that back. My first choice would be early morning, but I already get up at 5:30 and I'm not getting up any earlier to spend quality time with Tony Horton. Second to that is exercising at night. By the time 7:30 or 8:00 rolls around, I feel like I've gotten my second wind of the day. I think that I sleep better afterward, too, but that might be all in my head.

I've mentioned before that once we're done with this first round of P90X I'm going to bring running back into my repertoire. I always work better when I have a goal in mind, so my goal for next year is to run the Flying Pig Marathon in May 2011. I'd love to run all 26.2 miles, but I'm going to start training with the Half in mind and see where I get. C is worried that I'm going to hurt my knee again. I think that as long as I'm smart about my training and I take direction from people who actually know what they're doing then I should be fine. Good thing Tony doesn't do marathons. I don't know if I could stand that kind of torture.

P90X 60 Day Photos!

We took them last night. Usually I'm insistent on taking them in the morning before I eat anything. I tend to get that little pooch by the end of the day.

I didn't really see much of a change between Day 1 and Day 30, but I think at Day 60 it's starting to show a little bit better, especially in my back muscles. If you look real close you can even see some ab muscles trying to poke through! I'm down from 22.7% body fat to about 18-19%. I know my waist has gotten a lot smaller, but I don't know how much smaller because I didn't re-measure it yet.

It's hard to take these pictures without feeling like a total toolbag, so please excuse the doofy look on my face. I don't like having my picture taken in general, let alone half-naked and in weird poses. I wish we would have taken the "before" pictures in January when we started Power90. I think the difference from then to now would be amazing. I also wish C could take more consistent pictures. His are all the same from left to right. Same lighting, same coloring, same framing. Mine? Not so much. Lucky for him to have me behind the camera.

(note: you can click on the pictures to enlarge them. you might be blinded by my pastiness, but at least you'll be able to see my little muscles better)

P90X - Week 8 Completed

31 days to go!

I've come to the conclusion that a large percentage of this whole exercise thing is mental. Like with those Oblique V-Ups from Ab Ripper X. For the first 5 weeks that was always my stumbling block. I just couldn't push past 12 on each side. Then in week 6 I finally made it through the whole routine. Ever since then, it's all been a mental game for me and ARX. In the first half, I know I just have to get through those reverse bicycles. Easier said then done when ARX is following a legs and back workout and my hip flexors and quads are screaming in pain. After that I know I'm good until the V-Ups. As long as I can push myself past that, the rest of it is smooth sailing.

I tried the same approach to pull-ups this week. Still no success, but I'm getting closer. I made it halfway up. I keep thinking that I can just "do it." No luck so far. I traded the bands out for the chair again, hoping that's a step in the right direction. We'll see. I'll be happy if I can just do one pull-up before the end of my 90 days.

We started week 9 on Saturday, which included a disc we've never used before - Chest and Back. I knew when we were going through the routine that it was going to hurt the next day. It did. I also found my new most-hated-exercise. Dive-Bomber Push-Ups.



I fell on my face a few times at the bottom of the initial push-up, when your upper body is supposed to go through and past your hands. Mine wasn't having any part of that, I just kept getting stuck and falling down.

We also added Plyometrics back into the cardio slot. I'm starting to wonder if it will ever leave me feeling like anything other than a giant puddle of suck.

Pictures to come soon!

P90X - Week 7 Completed

Week 7 is over and we're in the recovery week of phase 2. I'm looking forward to phase 3 because it doesn't include the Legs & Back workout disc! I've gotten really bored with it lately. Wall squats, pull-ups, lunges, pull-ups, wall squats, pull-ups, etc. I think part of the problem is that I still can't do a single pull-up and it makes me sad. I started out using a chair for assistance and then moved to the resistance bands because I thought it would help, but I think I'm going to go back to the chair. I'm just not seeing any progress on that front. Charlie has been helping me practice. I'm still hoping that I'll be able to do one before we're finished with our first round.

We've also been talking about what we're going to do after we're done with this round. Charlie wants to do a round of P90X Classic, but I really want to do the Insanity program, or at least a hybrid of the two, because I just can't stand the P90X cardio discs. We've compromised - we ordered P90X Plus so we're going to do the Classic and then switch out the cardio nights for another disc or I'll go running. I went running last week for the first time since the fall and it felt really good. I forgot how great it is to exercise outside. I was able to run about 2.5 miles without feeling like I was going to die, which made me happy.


We also ordered the Tony Horton One-on-One Yoga disc. I LOVE yoga, but the P90X disc is just too much. Ordinarily I have no problem with doing 90 minutes of yoga, but between not starting it until 8:00 at night and Tony's constant hyperactivity it's just not the same. The One-on-One disk is only 50 minutes so it will fit into our schedule better.


Today is day 52 so next week we get to take our 60 day pictures! I'm excited!

P90X - Week 6 Completed

I can't believe we're halfway there! Today is Day 45. This week I have an accomplishment and a setback to talk about. First of all, on Wednesday I made it through all 349 exercises in the Ab Ripper X. ARX is basically 16 minutes of abdominal workout hell. Before we started P90X I thought that core strength was my "thing," after years of pilates and the like. I was able to cruise through the AR100 and AR200 on the Power90 disks, so I thought that ARX would be more of the same. Not so much. I don't know if it's the exercises themselves or the fact that you're doing it right after completing an hour of resistance training - it's probably a combination of both of those factors - but it's really freaking hard. My wheels start to fall off at the same two points each time - halfway through reverse bicycles because my hip flexors are screaming, and halfway through the oblique v-ups because my sides just can't take anymore. I knew that if I was able to push through those two exercises then I could make it the whole way. And I did! I was so proud of myself. We'll have to see if I can repeat the accomplishment tonight.

Here's a video of some random guy doing the oblique v-ups, to give you an idea what I was up against. I couldn't get past 12 without having to stop for a break. I busted out all 25 on both sides! Yay for me!



The setback for the week involves my poor knee and my out-of-alignment patella. It's been a nagging problem for years now, and I should have taken the time to strengthen it up again before we started P90X but I didn't. So it hurts, especially during lunges and squats. We're taking Plyometrics back out of the program and putting Cardio X back in. Technically we were supposed to be doing Cardio X anyway, but I preferred Plyometrics. Hopefully I can build some strength back up and then be ready to go for Round 2 of P90X.

45 days to go! Whee!

P90X - Week 5 Completed

Man, I thought Plyometrics was bad, the worst (as in most painful) one in the series, and then we did Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps last week. WTF came up with the idea to add clapping in between push-ups? I was pretty intimidated by some of the exercises, but pleasantly surprised that I was able to do almost all of them without modification. Sure, I'm nowhere near the point of doing a real plyometric push-up, where your hands AND feet come off the floor, but at least I can get my hands up. If you had asked me 5 weeks ago if I thought I would be able to do that, I would have looked at you like you had three heads. Good times!

We're over a third of the way through! Husband has seen some pretty drastic changes. The pants that he bought two weeks ago are already hanging off of him and his belt is down to the smallest buckle. Yet he still claims not to see his awesomeness. (sigh.) Men.

Pregnancy Aftermath - Kegel-What?!

This is a good one. And by good I mean embarrassing. And by embarrassing I mean something that you'll probably laugh at me for. But it's still an important lesson for all moms-to-be out there.




P90X includes an exercise video called Plyometrics, which means "jump training." Jump training? Pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Here's a screenshot I found online.

Interestingly enough, this is the P90X kids doing the exact exercise that led to my seriously un-glamorous moment.

All of the already-moms know that there is a certain muscle group that gets weakened during pregnancy and in childbirth (um, snissing anyone?). My pre- and post-natal yoga videos were insistent on working that muscle group, constantly mentioning how important it is in the real world. I must have done that "elevator move" a million times. Consider yourself lucky if you don't know what I'm talking about. I thought I had strengthened them enough, especially considering that I'm now almost 20 months past that delightful modesty-stripping experience called labor and delivery.

Anyway, I'll spare you the full-out intricate details. Just imagine having those muscles being not-quite-as-strong-as-they-apparently-should-be, drinking lots of water all day, and then jumping around wildly like they're doing in that picture up there. Apparently they haven’t gained back as much strength as I thought….

Thank goodness we're doing the program in the comfort of our own basement. That would have been quite the walk of shame.

P90X - Week 4 Complete

Week 4 was our first Recovery Week. It was nice to not have any strenuous lifting days, but I definitely wouldn't say that it was in any way relaxing. It's not supposed to be!

I'm just glad it didn't include any Plyometrics. My knees needed a break. It did include two days of Yoga X, and that sucked. I love yoga, it's one of my favorite activities, but I do NOT love Tony Horton yoga. It's long (really long, 90 minutes!) and boring and doesn't give me that relaxed satisfaction that "real" yoga classes do. I might need to find something else to replace it with. I can only handle so many vinyasas, know what I mean? I think that my irritation was compounded by the fact that we did Cardio X instead of Plyometrics. The first 20 minutes of the routine is straight out of the yoga video.

We started week 5 on Saturday with Core Synergistics, which I love, and then yesterday we were back to Plyometrics. My butt is killing me today! Knees aren't doing so well, either. Tonight is shoulders, triceps, and something else, and after reading the book description of the moves I'm feeling pretty intimidated. I don't know about those push-ups with claps in the middle. We'll see how that goes.

We took our 30 day pictures and Charlie's progress has been absolutely amazing! I'm trying to convince him to let me blog about them, because I'm so proud of how well he's doing. Mine are just "meh," but everything I've read has said that women tend to peak later in the program than men. Tony even suggested that for women it should be called "P120X." I'm definitely getting stronger and leaner, my body fat percentage has gone down to the "lean" range, and I have a lot more endurance (well, except for superman bananas, from which I only have bruised hip bones). I've decided to try upping my daily caloric intake from 1400ish to 1600ish to see if that helps. Sounds counter-intuitive, which is why I'm having a psychological problem with it, but we'll see what happens!

Speaking of food, Coach Lynn is about to start an entire week of eating off just the top two tiers of Michi's Ladder. I can't wait to hear how it goes! She's a great inspiration for fit living.

Here's my Superman Banana!

P90X - Week 3 Complete

Technically it's been complete since Friday, but I took a vacation day and didn't feel like sitting in front of a computer to blog when it was 70 degrees and sunny outside!

Right now we're in the recovery week of phase one. When they say "recovery" they definitely don't mean "rest," as Saturday was 90 minutes of Yoga, Sunday was Core Synergistics (possibly my least favorite because it hurts so good), and last night was Kenpo. I know most people LOVE Kenpo, but I'm just not feeling it. It's not bad, but it's all about kicking and punching and maybe I need to get a punching bag to use as a target because I just get frustrated that I'm not actually kicking or punching anything. That might be a better way to work out some irritations.

Last weekend I finally crashed on the 50/30/20 diet. We were doing Core Synergistics and it got to the point where I just couldn't physically move anymore. I guess that's what Tony refers to as "bonking." I moved up to the 40% protein / 40% carbs / 20% fat phase and things are better. It's more manageable from an energy standpoint and from a food standpoint, since I can choose from a wider variety. Still eating a lot of ground turkey and chicken breasts. I guess that was the point, though, to show you what different food types do for your body. Last night I had pasta for the first time in a month. I measured out my 56 grams and thought that it didn't really look like very much on the plate, but once I sat down to dinner I could barely even finish it.

We get to take our 30 day pictures on Sunday! I'm more excited for C than I am for myself. I think he's made great progress so far.

P90X - Week 2 Completed!

I know there are some people who are reeeeeeeeally tired of hearing people talk about P90X and how hurty it is and how great it is and all that, so I'm going to limit myself to one P90X-related post per week, at the completion of each week. Today is our "off day," and marks our completion of week 2 of 12. I'm so proud of myself for suffering through every last rep I've encountered.

The diet has been the hardest part by far, but even that is getting more manageable. I'm pretty much right on my 50/30/20 targets. If anything, I'm struggling to get enough calories - I'm fuller faster and I stay full longer. It's really amazing how much more you need to eat to reach a reasonable calorie goal when you're eating the "right" foods. We're not talking about extreme calories here, either, I'm struggling to come up with 1400-1600. I'm also getting used to the protein shakes.

I definitely need to change up my lunch option - the easiest and most protein-efficient thing I could come up with was tuna salad, so that's what I've been eating for lunch Monday through Friday. I'm about over it.

Once I hit Phase 2 of the diet I'm going to incorporate a weekly cheat meal. This kind of deprivation isn't really sustainable for me, and every so often I'd like to have a nice bowl of tortilla soup from Apple Spice or a cookie. Nothing too crazy. I don't want to do it yet, because I know that I'm learning from the suffering :)

C and I were talking about the 90 days last night and realized that 90 days is pretty much 25% of a year. That's a very "well, duh" thing to say, but when you start out saying you're going to do something "just for 90 days" you don't really appreciate that it's more a long-term lifestyle change than a temporary commitment. I don't think I'll look at what I'm eating the same way again.

Also have to say another big thank you to Coach Lynn for her support and tips and recipes and awesome food tracker tool. It's always helpful to have someone on your side.

Pure Torture

I want pasta. And pizza. And bread. Lots of fresh Italian bread with butter. I want carbs, period. It's only been three days. How am I going to last an entire four weeks?

Last night I made Baby C his dinner of ravioli, grated cheese, and broccoli, then sat down to this:



When he told us that he was ready to get down from the table there were still a few pieces of ravioli left on his plate. Glorious, cheesy ravioli, just waiting to be nibbled up. It was all I could do not to eat his leftovers, but I persevered. My will-power prevailed.

Today was even worse. Tuesdays are Donut Days. I was able to ignore the fact that there were two dozen donuts sitting in the cafeteria for most of the morning. Then 10:00 rolled around and I had to go to the kitchen to mix my protein shake. I stood RIGHT NEXT TO the donuts while I mixed the chocolate brown, sweetish-flavored powder with some cold water. I looked at them longingly but did not touch.

It will be ok.

P90X - Week 1

Well here we are, with 2 1/2 days under our P90X belts. So far we've done Core Synergistics and Cardio X, and both of them have been delightfully painful.

I've also taken a big gulp of the P90X kool-aid and agreed to go ahead and follow the diet plan, too. In this phase of the program that means a low-carb/low-fat/high-protein mix. We've planned out our meals for the next week to make sure that we're able to get the right proportions of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

I'm struggling with this one already because I don't really like most proteins. I'm not a big fan of meat, and the tofu preparations that I enjoy would have a negative impact on the carbohydrate ratio, so I have a lot of chicken breast and ground turkey on the menu. I think that I'll probably eat more meat in the next four weeks than I have in the last three months. It kind of goes against my food philosophy somewhat, but at least we can keep it to morally(ish) raised. That makes me feel a little better about it.

I also have to include protein powder in my diet to make up for the meat protein that I'm not willing/able to eat. We bought a tub of chocolate-flavored powder and I thought I was going to puke when I took the first sip of my first shake yesterday afternoon. Big thanks to Coach Lynn, who graciously offered me a sampling of her myriad flavors and varieties of powders. The one I enjoyed for my morning snack was pretty palatable.

I'm a big carb junkie, and I make no secret of that. Normally my diet is very carbohydrate-focused. I love pasta and potatoes, corn, bread, all that good stuff. Few things are more satisfying than kneading a home-baked loaf of soft Italian bread and then enjoying a slice still warm from the oven. I'm definitely going to miss that. Later on in the program there will be room to enjoy things like that, but right now we're focused on fat burning.

Right now all I can think about is freaking pasta salad and the macaroni and cheese we made a few weeks ago. I'm hoping that things work the way everyone says they do - that once I get used to the new way of eating my body won't crave those things anymore and I'll be able to eat a more balanced diet going forward.

Power90 - Week 6

This is the last week of Power90 for us. We're starting P90X on Saturday! As I mentioned yesterday, the box was waiting for me on my doorstep when I got home from work on Tuesday. I read through the manuals last night and I can't wait to get started! We're waiting for Saturday so that our off-days will be on Fridays. That seems to be the day that I come down with a major case of the "fuck-its," especially when things are super busy at work, like they have been lately. That way I can sit on the couch and watch TV or read a book and unwind without feeling guilty or having the workout hanging over my head.

So anyway, after completing 42 days of Power90 I'm a total Tony Horton convert. I looked in the mirror the other day and noticed that I have real arm muscles! I **might** have struck a few yoga poses to check myself out, because I'm kind of a tool like that. The only downside to the Power90 program is that it's repetitive. There are only two tapes and I'm SO tired of the cardio workout. That's what I'm looking forward to the most about P90X - there are 12 tapes and you rotate through. I think that will help prevent things from getting stale.

I'm most nervous about following the diet plan, or our modified version of the diet plan. I want to make sure that we aren't making a change that's too big for us, since baking and cooking are favorite hobbies of ours. We were going to take it in incremental steps but after reading the books C is all gung-ho about following the plan exactly. I'm most likely not going to follow that path with him.

I'm very much looking forward to watching C try to do the yoga poses! I have a feeling the Yoga X tape will provide me with some much needed comic-relief :)