Showing posts with label Godspell. Show all posts

Slacker, party of one, your table is now ready.

I kind of can't believe that I haven't updated in an entire week... but this week has been absolutely nuts.  You can pretty much blame three things for my absence.


plus...


and who can forget...



All super awesome things... okay, maybe working a ton wasn't all that awesome, but having money is splendid.  But I can't believe I left my blog hanging, especially since I FINISHED COUCH TO 5K THIS WEEK!!  And it was splendid.  But I will post more on that later, because right now I want to hang out with my Pops and celebrate Father's Day, and then I need to pack because I leave tomorrow morning for this...


So that I can see this...


and do a whole lot more of this!



Luckily, D-Money has insisted that I blog regularly while in California... mostly because he wants to read them.  So the fact that he can't get enough of me works in your favor.  And mine :)
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Hey la, hey la, my boyfriend's back!

Today's workout:
182 calories/25:59 


I GOT TO SEE DAVID TODAY!

It was a lot like this.  Only without the thug to the left.


A little backstory on us to explain why I was so excited to see him... David and I met through a mutual friend (read: were pushed into social situations together repeatedly by my awesome friend Joan who knew we both liked each other) in college.  We started dating in August of 2009, and were together from then until May 2010... when things got complicated.  First, we were apart (but still in a relationship) for a month, and then spent a couple more months in the same place again until I went back to Florida to be a Jungle Cruise Skipper in August 2010... and yes, I was away from him for our one year anniversary and felt terrible, but he arranged for an awesome surprise for me that made it much more bearable.  So, from August 2010 to January 2011, we were living in separate states.  Then I finally came home, and we had a few more weeks together before he left the state again.  So we've been back in a long distance relationship for about 4 months now, and unfortunately, we'll be staying that way until March 2012.  Oy.  By the time we celebrate our two year anniversary this August (I can't believe how fast that is coming up), we'll have spent more of our relationship apart than together.

Anyway, THAT is why I am so thrilled that I got to see him today!  He actually got here last night, but because of all the late night tech rehearsals for Godspell, I couldn't see him until this morning.  I did force myself into doing my workout this morning anyway because I made the promise to do Power Pairs three days a week, and I'm sticking to it!  I was proud of that, but it was a little rough.  I always think I can exercise on an empty stomach and it simply doesn't work for me.  I did have some Cytomax, but it wasn't enough.  I only did the circuit twice, and I didn't do any extra ab work.  But honestly, I'm just so proud that I did the workout at all.  It's hard sacrificing the time with D-Money since I only get him for a few days at a time.  Pity, party of one, your table is now ready...

And funny enough, as I was about to write this, I started thinking maybe I'd leave out any information about my workout because I was feeling so crappy about it... and I jumped over to Hungry Runner Girl, and of course Janae has posted a fantastic entry about getting over a bad workout.  I am constantly amazed at how interconnected we all are.  Janae has no idea who I am (despite the fact that I stalk her blog 50 times a day), but if I decided to contact her, I would already have something in common with her - "You have terrible workouts?  Oh, please, I have THE WORST workouts!"  I am often very grateful to other bloggers, simply because it's nice to know I'm not alone when I have horrendous workouts and hit the wall 5 minutes in.

But I digress.  Once I'd finished my workout, shoved a banana in my face, showered, and made myself presentable, I drove over to meet him and we had a really lovely day.  Breakfast at one of our favorite places (LE PEEP!) and then just hanging around.  We did go to another favorite spot later in the day - the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse.  It's an absolutely gorgeous teahouse, with hand-carved and hand-painted detailing.  I got jealous when another girl was taking pictures and then started fussing about how I'm a terrible blogger because I never remember my camera.  Good old David looks at me like I'm slightly crazy (which I am, so it's reasonable) and reminds me that I have a phone that takes pretty decent pictures.  So I stopped whining.  At least about that.  I never really stop whining, please.



Diggity-D-Dawg enjoying some chai.

He wanted to be in the picture with my sparkling tea - this stuff is the best.  I swear they put drugs in it, but they assure me it's only Sprite, lemonade, and iced tea.  I don't know what made it bright pink today, but I was okay with it.


Then we walked around the farmer's market, and snagged some dumplings...

This, but add spicy peanut sauce.  So.  Darn.  Good.


And then I was lame and left him to go to rehearsal.  Boo.  But I'm going to get up and go for my run in the morning, and then stalk him again tomorrow.  As much as long distance sucks (and it really, REALLY sucks sometimes)... it's so awesome when you get to see the other person again that it almost makes up for it.

That being said, I am really excited to live in the same state as that cute boy again.  After all, for option number seven on "How to overcome an awful workout," Janae said "Kiss a hottie.  That makes everything better and you will forget all about your bad workout."

I'd say it worked :)
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Movement is a blessing.

Today's workouts:
Turbo Fire - Fire 30 and Stretch 10
321 calories/32:34

Power Pairs x3 and Ab Burner on Nike Training Club app
378 calories/50:23


This weekend was really hard on me.  It started with unnecessary, hurtful drama from coworkers made worse by zero support from my useless excuse for a manager... and ended with unnecessary, hurtful drama from other people in my life that, though probably not intended as malicious, ended up causing a lot of stress and pain for me.  Oh, and Godspell opens on Friday.  Definitely no stress there.

So when I woke up this morning, I was so insanely grateful it was Monday, and that the weekend was over (that's not a good sign, really...), and then I got smacked in the face with more stress.  Essentially, I lost it, and to quote Julie and Julia... "I cried like a small, emotionally disturbed child."  It was super glamorous.  And to be honest, I wanted a whole lot more of this...


than this...



And then I actually started my workout.  And my whole attitude changed.  I was so incredibly grateful to be able to do that workout.  I pushed myself hard because I knew I could, and how fantastic is it to know you can push yourself?  To know that your body is strong and that you are capable of whatever you've set your mind to.  I took all of the pain and stress of the past few days and used it as energy.  With every punch and kick, I felt it leave my body.  When it was hard, I talked myself through it, because I knew how badly I needed it.  And when it was all said and done, I felt so much better.  I think I successfully sweat out all the negativity I had in me.




The truth is, I try not to take exercise and eating all that seriously most of the time - I'll skip workouts and  eat cake and it's okay with me.  But sometimes I think we all forget what a profound blessing it is to simply be able to move!  Running is a gift, Turbo Fire is a gift, whatever activity you love is an absolute gift.  And I feel silly because I'm honestly getting all emotional writing this, but it was such a wakeup call for me today.  Sure, it was grueling, and part of wanted to whine the entire time about how hard it was and how sweat was dripping off my nose and I can't stand it when sweat drips off my stupid nose... but I was practically having a panic attack and 30 minutes of Turbo Fire later, I was smiling.  I won't go so far as to say it was a miracle (that cupcake up there is the true miracle), but I will take a moment to say thank you to my body for being able to do that for me.

I hope you all felt blessed with your own movement today, and if not, then maybe tomorrow!  Or... just bless yourself with the miracle of cake.
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Boring, party of one, your table is now ready.

Today's workout:
Power Pairs (three times through circuit), Ab Burner on Nike Training Club app
347 calories/53:23

This is not destined to be the most thrilling of all blog entries.  Forgive me.  If you actually have the patience to read my blog regularly, you'll probably learn that I'm not a super exciting person.  Weird, yes.  Snarky, yes.  Exciting?  Ehhhhhh.

As you may be able to tell from my workout updates, I've fallen off the Turbo Fire bandwagon.  And by that I mean... I jumped off.  Willingly.  The whole 5 Day Inferno thing really wasn't working out for me... as much as I love feeling completely compromised and exhausted from my exercise, and freaking out the entire cast of my show by nearly blacking out in rehearsal... I decided maybe the madness needed to stop.  Plus, I knew the only reason that I was doing the 5 Day Inferno was so I could lose some quick pounds and inches before Godspell opens, and truth be told, that goes against how I feel about weight loss.  I try to ignore it sometimes because it's irritating, but Weight Watchers really has taught me that healthy, sustainable, and slow weight loss is really the best plan.  So I'm slightly chubby for Godspell... who cares?  As long as I hit the notes (please?) then I should be okay.

Shameless self promotion.


I've also decided to take a little breather on Turbo Fire to figure out exactly how it's going to fit into my schedule.  I have really enjoyed the workouts and I do want to increase the amount of cardio I'm doing, but first and foremost, I want to successfully complete my half marathon training.  I committed to that before I committed to Turbo Fire, and in the long run, it's more important to me.  And since I'd like to run my first half marathon injury-free, I know I need to be careful about overtraining... and Turbo Fire could definitely cause some of that.  I'm still figuring it out.  

In the meantime, I have decided through all of my logical reasoning (read: whining about it incessantly to anyone who will even pretend to listen) that the reason I've been feeling and looking all mushy and pudgy is because I went from constant strength training (good ol' P90X) to pretty much no strength training.  Yup.  That's the reason. 

These have nothing to do with it.

Neither do these.

Or this.  That's a single serving, right?


Regardless of my newfound love for binge eating (delightful), I do think that I have been missing strength training.  So I'm making a commitment, and hoping that posting it here where a whole five people might read it will keep me accountable: I will do the Power Pairs workout three times a week for the next four weeks... so until June 17th.  In addition, I will do some sort of ab routine on those days, whether it's the Ab Burner workout from the NTC app (which is AWESOME, if you have an iPhone, go download it right now), Ab Ripper X from P90X, or something else entirely.  It may mean busting out my VHS of 8 Minute Abs.  

I think a four week commitment is long enough to get some results and make strength training a stable part of my routine again, but short enough so that I can keep my eye on a goal and not get frustrated.  I'm looking at tomorrow as kind of a fresh start, and am going to take some measurements and work on cleaning up my eating this week.

Okay, I know... snoozeville.  I will stop being boring as soon as I announce that I lead my very first Weight Watchers meeting this morning!  I have been nervous about it for pretty much the entire week, but it went so smoothly.  The members were delightful - so nice and so accepting of me, even though I'm replacing a long-time leader at that meeting.  And the two receptionists were absolute lifesavers.  They quickly realized that I essentially have no idea what I'm doing and were very patient with me.  I'm actually excited to lead this meeting again next week, and to see the members progress!  I feel more comfortable now that it's "my" meeting and I'm not in training or subbing.  I absolutely cannot wait to help these members - I think it's going to be a great meeting.  

Dreams come true, kids... dreams come true!
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EZ my hiney.

Today's Turbo Fire workout:
Fire 55 EZ
1:02:19

This really is shaping up to be my least favorite workout in the whole Turbo Fire system.  It's just SO DARN LONG.  I got used to working out for an hour or more 6 days a week with P90X, but with the resistance workouts in P90X (and most of them are resistance workouts), there is a good amount of downtime.  Not true in Turbo Fire - in that hour, you're pretty much busting it every minute.  And by the end, I kind of wonder if I'm really getting anything out of it or just banging my head against a wall.  But I got through it and I'm glad - nearly 600 calories torched.  Yeehaw!

So today was my official start of the 5 Day Inferno Plan, and my official realization of "Hey, following this nutrition plan might prove to be somewhat suicidal."  I followed it almost exactly for the first two meals - I say "almost" because I don't believe you can call a breakfast sandwich a breakfast sandwich if there ain't no cheese on it.  But somehow I don't think my Weight Watchers cheese slice will kill me.  I do have a few problems with the nutrition plan, though - it's a 1,200 calories-a-day plan, which sounds like plenty except that I burned 582 calories with my workout today.  Considering my breakfast was only about 400 calories, I was completely running on fumes by the end of the workout, so no wonder I felt wiped out... plus, I almost passed out tonight at rehearsal for Godspell, which I believe was a desperate cry for calories from my body.  So I gave it cookie dough.

The other problem is that each day includes a Shakeology shake, something I do not own and kind of waver on.  I have thought seriously about buying Shakeology, because I love smoothies, and I like things that make it easier for me to be healthy so that I don't have to think about it.  I suck at thinking.  But good ol' Beachbody ain't free.  A bag of Shakeology costs $120, and has about 30 servings in it, so each shake is about $4.  Sure, it's cheaper than a meal out and comparable to my beloved Starbucks soy Chai, but I guess I'm not convinced enough of its miraculous abilities to really be willing to cough up that amount of money.  Maybe when I'm rich and famous I'll be to Shakeology what Madonna was to Kabbalah.



I still didn't take my before pictures today... oops.  I wanted to have my mom take them because I fail at using the self timer, but she's the only person I'm willing to pose for wearing a bikini.  My poor mom.  Our schedules didn't line up though, so no pictures.  I think it will work out all right in the end - I have a feeling I'll be as pale tomorrow as I am today.

Since I have no glamorous photos of myself to round out the awkwardness of this post, I will instead show you the woman that keeps me going in the Turbo Fire workouts.  Well, besides Chalene, who is adorably positive and bubbly.  She tells me over and over again that I'm not tired... I am working on listening.  But this is her friend and fitness buddy Monica...

How absurdly cute is this girl?!

And yes, these are pictures of my TV.  I am a creeper.


Please notice that Monica is super fit - look at her arms in that top picture!  I wish I could have snapped a picture of her abs though, because they are ridiculous.  And they are especially ridiculous because Monica has had triplets.  Um.  Her stomach is flatter and sexier than mine and I haven't had any of them there chillen.  

So when I turn into a wuss in the middle of a workout, I look at her.


Okay... I can't leave you without at least a few shots of my beautiful face.  Mostly because I showered today and want to show off my clean hair before I get it all sweaty tomorrow.  And probably leave it that way until Sunday.  Erm.

Stoned.

Waving... goodnight, lovelies!
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Anatomy of a rest day (in an awkward assortment of pictures)

Today was a rest day for Turbo Fire... a rest day two days into the program = genius.  Good call, Chalene.

I've read mixed opinions on "rest" days.  Some people say take the whole day off from intentional exercise, other people say just do something different than what you're resting from (i.e. for a rest day between runs, go for a bike ride).  I tend to go with the do-nothing-all-day approach.  Working out well for me so far.

I admit that I considered doing some of this...

... mostly so I could look like that on the beach...


But I ended up watching a whole lot of this instead...



Then I got creative and, inspired by the warm weather, painted these:

Yup, those are my chubby toes.  Hey, they're more attractive than my face in some of the pictures you've seen already, so... you're welcome.


Then I drove over to rehearsal for this:



Which is so much fun I can hardly stand it sometimes, and I am getting so excited for us to open!

Well, that was obviously strenuous so I had to have some spa time...


That stuff is the best.  Seriously, the best.  Check it out: Aloe Protective Restoring Mask.  And good ol' Body Shop is doing a buy 2, get 1 free or buy 3, get 2 free deal right now.  I know because I am on every possible notification list they have.  If they offered to implant a chip in my head and send signals of sales straight to my brain, I'd sign up for it.

Buuuuut... that was pretty much my day, kids.  The only other thrilling news I have is that I am officially done with the whole dry socket mess (knock on wood) and am healing nicely according to my surgeon.  So huzzah!  And with that, I think the perfect ending to the day is in order.

+



Good night, lovelies!
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