I'm Here!

I was driving along the other day when I had a sudden realization. I'm here. I'M HERE! For quite a while now I've been working toward a goal - a goal I didn't really believe I could accomplish. The goal was loosely formed in my mind as being in shape. So while I was driving I looked down at my legs and for some reason it hit me, I'm in shape. I may have 20 more pounds to lose to hit my goal weight, but physically, I'm in shape. I'm wearing a size 8, jogging, cycling, swimming, weight training. I weigh ~165 pounds and according to the BMI I am ~15 pounds overweight. 15 pounds. My goodness, I am here. I have really struggled in the past to appreciate where I am in the moment and it was really nice to experience that feeling.

So, can you tell? I'm back! That 30 mile ride was the beginning and going to the gym on Monday and doing my full gym routine sealed the deal. After my elliptical warm-up I hopped on the treadmill feeling strong and determined. I told myself, "I'm going to jog 3.1 miles". I went for it but after about 1 mile I questioned if I could do it. I ended up jogging for 2 miles, which at 5mph took 24 minutes. 2 miles! 25 minutes! Yes! That's what I did just before surgery. I wish it was a little easier than it was but I can't have it all. I'll be working on my jogging with the goal to get to 3 miles before the tri, but if I can't, that's ok too. After all, I'm Here. I followed that up with weight training, upper body.

There was a new trainer at the gym and he was walking around looking bored. I took the opportunity to pick his brain and ended up getting about 20 minutes of his time. He gave me a new obliques exercise (alternating elbows to knees while bicycling my legs) and he helped me work on my form on the side-lunges. We talked about my reps/weight concern and he said while training for the tri I should continue the low-weight/high-reps because building muscle endurance is more important than building increased muscle mass. I like lifting heavier weights but that makes sense to me. Maybe after the tri I'll up my weight. Unless I want to sign up for another tri :)

Did I mention I'm wearing a size 8 jeans? I found these great dark denim jeans at The Gap and they fit me great! I told myself "No more clothing purchases over $10." These were over $10, but not by much since they were on sale. I've been looking for a pair of dark denim jeans like this for a while. You know, the kind that are shaped more like slacks? I love them and when I wore them yesterday I felt like a million bucks. I wore a top that I purchased THREE years ago when I was trying to get in shape with Body for Life. It's seemed so small to me for so long and it finally fits. Of course, it's an XL. It's one of those tiny Ralph Lauren t-shirts. Sizes are weird.

So I've been carefully tracking my food since Thursday. I currently have 12.5 WPA's left and I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them. Today is the last day of the week so I may have a candy bar or something like that. Or ice cream. Hmmm, what do I really want? I don't want to get too crazy as tomorrow is weigh-in Thursday. If my home scale is any clue I'm not going to have a big loss this week, and that's just fine. A small loss or staying the same will be alright. Since I increased my physical activity this week I might be retaining water, or building muscle, or have a 5 pound dumbbell accidentally lodged in my stomach. Whatever explains it, right?