Things That Are Scary

Things That Are Scary

• The price of a good pair of running shoes.
• That you have to walk two miles to burn off a Snickers bar.
• Flying off the back of a treadmill (done it twice).
• The amount of calories in an Olive Garden breadstick.
• 5K training...starts tomorrow.
• Carb cravings at 10pm.
• Facing the scale after eating Chinese buffet.
• The gleam in a trainer's eye when they say, "This is gonna be fun."
• Working out thirty minutes after eating chili (I have tested this theory and it is not a good idea).
• The birds out on the Riverwalk where we walk at lunch sometimes.  Okay, maybe they're just scary to me, but still. 
• Doing the treadmill at a 10 incline; I tried to explain to our trainers that I am not in fact a mountain goat, but up the treadmill went anyway.
• The sign outside KFC that says "everything is better with bacon."
• The dessert table at my church's homecoming.
• Any table at my church's homecoming (so much delicious Southern food).
• Paula Deen's new butter-flavored lip gloss. 
• All of this Halloween candy.
• The thought of what my abs are going to feel like tomorrow after Sculpt class today.

 Happy Halloween!

Beach 2 Battleship

It's amazing what can happen in a year!  Now that I am a year plus into my journey, it's becoming fun to look back and see how things have changed; it spurs me forward and keeps me going.   Last year this time, I was about a month into my weight loss program.  I had lost almost twenty pounds and was starting to feel a lot better. Even so, I was a little nervous then about volunteering for the Beach 2 Battleship Iron Man Triathalon, because it meant over three hours on my feet, something that I had not been able to do in a long, long time.  Last year I made it through my first triathalon volunteering, learned all about Heed versus water, managed to get myself covered in electrolyte gel and thus attracted the attention of nearby bees, and accomplished making it through those hours on my feet, though at the time it was very hard for me.

Fast forward a year to today when I headed out to volunteer again at the aid station for the Beach 2 Battleship Triathalon.   This year my table was at the top of the hill and I found myself with the job of making sure the cups stayed full of Heed and water and that we had an ample supply of electrolyte gel and pills.  Not only was I on my feet for over three hours, but I made countless trips up and down the hill with jugs of water, sleeves of cups, and several trips with a 5 gallon cooler full of Heed.  At one point I was heading up the hill with some water and Jeff jogged up next to me saying, "Let's run." So I ran because as I've said before, I do everything my trainers tell me to do.

It was inspirational to see all of those athletes who, if they were doing the full Iron Man, had swam two miles, biked over a hundred, and now were running a twenty-six mile marathon. There were people of all shapes and sizes, as well as all age ranges, including some senior citizens.  Just goes to show you that with determination, you can do anything. Whether it's completing an Iron Man or sticking with a diet and workout plan for over a year, if you keep plodding away, you can cross the finish line, and it feels amazing.

2011 Beach 2 Battleship with my friend Kim, sporting our pink for breast cancer awareness.

Me and my friend Heather, who is a champ and a fighter herself!

It Was a Dark And Stormy Night

It was a dark and stormy night.  Wind whistled outside the window like the desolate and foreboding wail of a banshee.  Inside the house even the roar of a crackling fire couldn't warm the bones or shake away the dread that was descending like a heavy cloak.  Lightning crashed and thunder shook the walls.  Fear caused the stomach to clench and the chest to feel like an iron belt was steadily tightening and tightening as the heart thump, thump, thumped a rhythm of terror.  It was coming.  There was no escape, there was no release, there was no where to run.  Sooner or later...we all must face...the scale.  Ah ha ha ha.  Scary but true.

Something else that was scary today, Tabata class. To find out what Tabata is, click here.  Freddy Krueger and Michael Meyers having nothin' on side plank Tabata intervals.  It's probably going to be scarier in the morning when I'm stiff and sore, but I felt amazing afterwards.

Happy early Halloween y'all!

Last Halloween, about a month into my program.

This Halloween.  Boo y'all!

You Know You're on a Journey When...

You know you're on a weight loss journey when:

• You take off everything decently possible before getting on the scale and wear your lightest clothes for weigh-in day.  I myself remove my glasses, accessories, and ID badge.  I once even saw an old lady shimmy down to her slip in the middle of a Weight Watchers meeting before getting on the scale.
• Have ever audibly said to the scale, "Seriously?!"
• You can recite the caloric content of each of Jared's favorite subs at Subway.
• You've given the treadmills in your gym Seven Dwarf-esque names based on their attributes: Squeaky, Creaky, etc.
• You realize that you have started talking in short words: quads, rep, carb, Step, squat.
• Waiters at restaurants you frequent hate to see you coming with all of your meal customizations and calorie inquisitions.
• You've become such a protein hound that you seriously start to wonder if maybe you've been bitten by a werewolf. Must. Have. Meeeeeat.
• You can tell 30 second increments without looking at a watch.
• You can pick something up and easily guess how much it weighs.
• You don't realize how strong you've gotten until you accidentally sling your groceries across the yard when unloading them from the trunk. (True story)
• You're not satisfied unless something hurts.
• You find a website online that tells you how far you have to walk to burn off different increments of Halloween candy. Yes, two miles for an average sized candy bar..trick or treat?
• You end each day with a George Jefferson limp, but realize its all worth it.

Out of the Cube and Into the Light

The beautiful day and mild temps lured us out of the gym today and into the sunshine. Cube rats that we are, we emerged blinking from the building into the wonderful weather outside.  Immediately Millie, Charles, and Flo took off running towards the River Walk, but with my pulled quad, I had to make do with a careful power-walk.  The old me would have felt frustrated and bummed out to be left behind, but the new me knew that I would catch up with them at our usual workout spot soon enough.

Sometimes I think people get deterred from working out due to lack of access to a gym, but there is so much you can do just using the space around you.   Outside areas are not just for running or walking, you just have to get creative.  On the River Walk we did several squats/plants/step-up/sprint (power-walking for the injured)/bench dips (100 of 'em) circuits, guaranteed to make you feel the burn.  And then we had to walk back to the building.

Squinting in the sun, but workout done: Millie, Flo, Me, and Charles.

It's fun to get creative with workout locations. You can pretty much find something to burn calories anywhere outside.  Need to add some strength training to your cardio routine but don't have any weights?  Using your own body weight with exercises like planks and bench dips is all you need. Keeping workouts varied and interesting is what keeps me motivated.  And the beautiful weather is just icing on the cake (pardon the cake reference).

Who am I? I am a champion!

My much needed new shoes were so ready to go today that they practically jumped out of the gym bag. Boy they felt good!  Eagerly I jumped onto the treadmill, cranked up my Ipod, and started to run.   The new shoes felt so good that I started running faster, and then faster, and then the fastest I've ever run.  Then, fifteen minutes in I felt something bad in my right quad and had to stop.  I hobbled off the treadmill and over to where my brother was working out to stretch my leg out.

Seeing me limping, Jeff came over to inquire, "Does it hurt?"

"Only when I move it." I responded then realized how dumb that sounded.

I looked around the gym, not ready to throw in the towel but acknowledging that the bike and the elliptical machines, and pretty much anything involving legs was out.   Then my eyes fell on my old pal the punching bag.  Cranking the music up again, I proceeded to pound the heck out of that bag until I felt like my arms were going to fall off.  Where there's a will, there is a way.

One of the best things I've heard in a long time is a speech by a high school football coach, pumping up his team.  If you want to get rallied, take about three minutes and check this out: I am a champion!  Some of the quotes that resonate in my head are, "I have trained my mind and now my body will follow" and "my heart and my mind will carry me when my limbs are too weak."   I've listened to that speech at least five times today, and its rally cry, "Who am I? I AM A CHAMPION!" carried me through my workout today.

Give it a listen, I promise you won't be disappointed.

I Have No Words

What do you say to the people who have saved your life? How do you begin to say "thank you" for such an amazing gift like the one I was given? Not an easy task.

Today was our wrap-up meeting for our Transformation program and Jeff and Marisa had created a movie presentation of our pictures and videos set to music.   As we watched it, there were a lot of laughs, some tears, and a lot of awe as we saw ourselves in action and remembered the amazing times we've had.

Then it was our turn to get up and speak about the experience.  Now, I am a trained Toastmaster and never at a loss for words, but my emotions felt very raw about this and I was nervous. As each one of my team mates got up and spoke, I found myself in their words.  I smiled and laughed and cried along with them.  It was impossible not to.

When it was my turn, I reluctantly stepped forward and found that I literally couldn't speak. Tears began to flow and I couldn't look anyone in the eye. But, these people are my family.  They've fought at my side, held me up, shared my triumphs and my challenges, dried my tears, cheered me on, and encouraged me every step of the way. I knew I could trust them.  Slowly the words came out in halting, breathy phrases and I hope that I was able to convey my gratitude to extent that this amazing experience deserves. 

To my team and my trainers: for every inside joke, every locker room therapy session, every friendly competition, every cheer, every high-five and fist bump, every drop of sweat shed together, every encouragement, and every victory dance beside the scale,  I am grateful.   I love y'all and I'm ready to take this journey to the next level with you!

My two heroes and the best trainers anyone could have, Marisa and Jeff.

I love this team! Back row: Mary, me, Sylvia, Millie, Jeff and Jeff M. Front row: Marisa, Frank and Florence

The Journey of a Pair of Shoes

If you workout as much as my group does, you tend to burn through shoes about every four months.  At the beginning of this journey, Marisa imparted these statistics to me and I was skeptical.  Four months, that's all? But she was dead on. Every four months almost to the day, my shoes alert me that they are tired and about to give up the ghost.  My knees start hurting, my back aches, my heels feel on fire and I check the calendar to find that four months have indeed gone by.

Yesterday after Step class, I was stretching my aching hip flexer out on a mat in the gym and as I grasped my ankles and stretched forward, I contemplated my shoes. They are an ordinary pair of Brooks, still look pretty good with their silver and aqua coloring, but they are ready to be retired to the back of the closet. No doubt they are tired.  In their time they have:

• Stomped, stepped, climbed, and grapevined through many a Step class.
• Cha-cha'ed, salsa'ed, and rhumba'ed through many a Zumba class, including a two hour Zumba dance marathon.
• Slapped over and over again on the treadmill.
• Ran their first steps along the Cape Fear River river.
• Ran countless sprints up and down the gym.
• Supported me while I held hundreds of planks.
• Supported me while I lifted countless weights.
• Supported me as I flipped a 367 pound tire 18 times in 100 degree weather.
• Dug down deep to help me pull my trainer up and down a parking lot with straps around my waist.
• Kicked over and over in Kickboxing and Kenpo.
• Climbed and descended, climbed and descended over and over the stairs outside of my gym.
• Swung back and forth on the paddles of the elliptical and the bike countless rotations.
• Pushed and pulled me meters and meters on the rowing machine. 
• Jumped back and forth through every hateful burpee.
• Held me steady on the stability ball through every crunch.
• Traveled gratefully into the locker room five days of every week at the end of a workout.
• Bounced around every weekday in the gym bag that is a permanent accessory on my shoulder.

I'd say they've earned their retirement.

Goonies Never Say Die

One of my favorite movies is an eighties classic, "The Goonies," and one of my favorite lines from that movie is "Goonies never say die."  Over this past year I have really tried hard to develop that "never say die" attitude and I've worked out through injuries, wardrobe malfunctions, and time constraints. Yesterday, in typical Monday fashion,  I found myself facing all three.

It started out with the lovely "blue screen of death" on my laptop, and I spent the majority of my day contending with a loaner laptop and the terror that my hard drive couldn't be saved.  Needless to say, this produced time constraints. Challenge one.

I made it to the gym with my mind in tailspin of deadlines and IT nuisances, but the instant my feet crossed the threshold of the locker room, I calmed down. Ah, my happy place, my comfy nest. I felt the tension leave me...that is until I unzipped my gym bag and realized that in my blind groping through my closet that morning, I'd grabbed a T-shirt that was easily three sizes smaller than the one I had intended.  Wardrobe malfunction.  Challenge two.

"Oh man.  What am I going to do now?" I said to Julie, holding the small shirt out to her like a limp fish.

"Remember last week when you made me wear those tight pants?" She said with a satisfied grin.

It was true.  Julie had forgotten workout pants that day and was about to turn back and skip the gym.  I herded her into the gym telling her that she must go on, and Florence, who always has extra stuff, generously offered her a pair of leggings.  Now, we don't call Florence Mighty Mouse for nothing. She's a petite powerhouse and several inches shorter than Julie, but brave Julie put on the tight, high-water pants and carried on.  Now I was forced to do the same.  I shimmied into the shirt and was happy to find out that while it was form fitting, I could wear it without too much scandal.

Tight shirt and all, I jumped on the treadmill and started my 5K intervals, running a minute and walking a minute.  About halfway in,  my hip started hurting.  I powered through for a while, but finally I had stop and get on the bike which took some of the pressure off.  Challenge three.  Well, Goonies never say die and I was determined to finish my workout. 

Despite a hectic day, Monday ended well with a great evening spent with Vera, Amy, Will and our special guest, Debbie Daniels of the A & E show, "Heavy".  It was awesome to hear more of her inspiring story (she's lost over 250 pounds, holla!), as well as learn some of the behind the scenes secrets of the TV weight loss industry. Debbie has faced many adversities, but continues with inspiring determination down her path.

I thought about Debbie's determination today as I led our group through a strength training-cardio interval workout.  After each set of exercises, I had us running to the back of the gym, touching the wall and running back to begin the next set.   My hip flexor screamed the whole way, and at one point I had to quit running and power-walk for the rest of the workout, but I am stubborn and was going to finish no matter what.   Now I am confident after all this time to know when to pull the plug and not hurt myself,  but I was confident with this (not my first go-round with this lovely hip strain) I could modify and keep going.  Goonies never say die right?

Go Pink!

Every Friday is beautiful but today's weather was exceptional.  The sun was out, the temps were mild, and there was a festive air due a fair at work and Go Pink Day for breast cancer awareness.

I cruised briefly through the fair on my way to kickboxing class, hoping there would be something mildly low cal to eat since it had been a busy morning and I hadn't had a chance to grab lunch.  No such luck, nachos and grilled cheese were the offerings of the day (along with a bunch of candy and cupcakes and other such lovely treats).  That's when my emergency packet of peanut butter crackers that rides around in my gym bag came in handy.  Two crackers are around sixty calories and enough to cap off any low blood sugar that working out might produce.  It was very tempting to spend my lunch hour at the fair, but in the end I got out of the grilled cheese truck line and headed off to the gym.

And here's to going Pink for breast cancer awareness.  Losing weight lowers your risk for cancer!

Go Pink!

Joining Forces

Odds are if you spend enough time in a gym, you begin to see who the regulars are, and one thing you'll probably notice is that the majority of those regulars work out in groups.   I know 90% of my success has come from our group dynamic.

As in business, with exercise diversification is key.  You diversify your workouts to keep your muscles confused.  You switch up your food to keep your metabolism guessing.  And it's always good to cast your net out wider to those working out around you in order to make your support system stronger.

Today our group joined forces with another group of regulars for a tough core and cardio workout. It was great to add Sharon and Autumn into our fold.  I know I picked up some tips from them!  The bigger you make your group of supporters, the better the odds are that you won't have to go at things on your own. So reach out to those around you, whether it be in the gym or on the same walking path. They share your goals, struggles, and triumphs.  We're all in this together, and we all get by with a little help from our friends.

My Own Fast

There are many things that I can do fast.  Typing, talking, Facebook recon, shouting Jeopardy answers at the TV, I'm like lightning.  I can come up with a witty little rhyme in the blink of an eye.  But anything physical, you can hang it up. I'm the last one over the finish line. My friend Debbie has a great way of putting a positive spin on this by saying that she's going to be the first to finish last. 

The funny thing is, is that for the past couple of days, I've found my speed from somewhere.  Like any other challenging exercise endeavors, you plug away and plug away every day at it and then suddenly everything clicks. 

Yesterday I had the pleasure to play trainer to my group of workout buddies and my brother.  He's in great shape and I wondered if my circuit workout would be challenging enough for him.  With great pleasure I saw the sweat on his brow as we did burpees, kettle bell swings, squat presses, planks, and  bag strikes, all with a run down the length of the gym in between each exercise to keep the heart rate up. It was on one of those runs that I found myself neck and neck with my brother...and I could keep up with him.  It was about this time that Jeff and Marisa came into the gym to see the six of us sweating it out and Charles and I barreling towards them.   They said it did their hearts good to see us keeping up with our workouts together now that we have left their nest.

Today it was on again in Step Class where Marisa brought things to a new level.  I swear she must have eaten the Power Wheaties today.  But again, the funny thing happened and my speed came back. When you've spent a considerable amount of years plodding slowly and painfully along, to fly up and down a step, keeping up with the tricky choreography, feels amazing. To be able to cut off your mind and let your body endure feels amazing.  Walking into the locker room completely drenched feels amazing.

I am definitely not the fastest one in the bunch, even after over a year of working out, but I'm finding my own speed. I'm learning that the only person I need to compare myself to is the old Jennifer.  I may be the first to finish last, but I've smoked that chick!

Taken tonight.

Last year, for comparison.

Back on the Road

We all have our slip ups and backslides.  On any journey there are twists and turns and bumps in the road.  For me it happened this weekend.  After being so good at dinner Friday night, I found myself with an unusual appetite on Saturday and Sunday and with events like a cookout and a family reunion to test my resolve.  I didn't go completely "off the ranch" but I definitely indulged more than I should. What scared me though, was the fact that I knew what I was doing, but didn't care at the time.  That got me worried: would the end of my program do me in?  Would the fact that I wasn't accountable to Jeff and Marisa officially anymore send me back to my wicked ways?  I must say that I felt a bit rogue, on my own for the first time and faltering.

It happens to all of us, and what shook out at the end of this weekend is that I learned that I am not completely healed.  I still have a long ways to go. But, I also learned to recognize the warning signs and pull back on the ropes.   Instead of throwing in the towel, I got back on plan today with healthy eating and a hard cardio workout.

Most of my workout team was either on vacation today or in meetings during our usual gym time, so I was so grateful and joyous to have my friend Julie to join me.  Julie was working out with me in the beginning and is now getting back on her own track with a determination to make things happen.

It is as Mike Clay said when he came to speak to my group, "If you had a flat tire you would pull over and fix it right?  You wouldn't shoot out the other three tires, set the car on fire, and roll it down the hill would you?" 

The former me would definitely have a burned up car at the bottom of the hill with four bad tires. I am relieved to say that the new me, along with my pal Julie, fixed her tire and got back on the road of her journey.

Wrapping up the Week

TGIF!  I'm so glad the weekend is here! I went to my second yoga class today and it was awesome. Yoga is the perfect addition to a fitness routine, especially after you've been beating your body up all week.  The best part comes at the end when we lay on our backs and stretch out each one of our toes.   Heaven.  I am getting better hang of the proper breathing techniques and holding in the giggles...challenging today because I could have sworn the music was straight off of the "Karate Kid" movie score from the parts where Mr. Miagi is getting ready to tell Daniel-san something wise.

The work day finally ended and then it was off to date night with the hubby.  Tonight he wanted to go to Mike's Farm, a wonderful place out in the country, right in the middle of a Christmas tree farm. It's great out there this time of year because of all the pumpkins, hayrides, and apple cider...puts you in the mood to watch "The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown".


The restaurant usually has a two hour waiting list because of their good country cooking.   Dinner is served family style with all of the fried chicken, country ham biscuits, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, pork loin, and gravy you can eat. And that's before dessert.  Their mac and cheese is so epic that back in the bad old days, I spent an entire weekend cracking the recipe, and let me tell you, it is sinful.

I haven't been to Mike's Farm since I found the diet religion, but Eric wanted to go so badly that I gave in and I'm proud to report that I ate the pork loin and vegetables with only a taste of mac and cheese.  It was definitely the first time I've ever left there not feeling completely stuffed and miserable, and that was better than all the mac and cheese and fried chicken in the world.

At the tree farm.

Subway Stand-off

Why does healthy food cost more?  As if it's not hard enough to eat right, insult is added to injury with a heftier price tag.   Think about how cheap you can eat at Taco Bell as opposed to getting a grilled chicken salad.  And, all of the food on the outside parameters of the grocery store goes on MVP special a lot less often than Hamburger Helper or mac and cheese.  You can super coupon your way to five toothbrushes and seven free cans of Spaghetti O's, but what's a girl gotta do to get some discount broccoli? Can I get an amen?

Just tonight I was in Subway, a seemingly safe harbor with Jared and all that, standing in line mentally building my sub and tallying the calories, when the sandwich artist informed me that it would actually be cheaper to turn my six inch into a five dollar foot-long.  I stood there debating and calculating.  My hunger level from Millie's arm ripping workout earlier was high.  It was late in the evening and I knew if I bought a foot-long, I wouldn't save the other half for lunch tomorrow. 

I ordered my six inch and the sandwich artist kind of shook his head as he fixed my order. I looked at him and said, "If I get the foot-long, I'll eat it."  He looked back at me as if to say, "Isn't that the point?" I squinted my eyes back at him as if to say, "Just toast my sub sandwich artist, and let me be on my way."

Just like any other sacrifice along the journey to health, there are times when you have to do the impractical even though the money in your wallet and the hunger in your stomach tell you otherwise. Sometimes you have to pay a little more, and sometimes you have to seem a little crazy, and sometimes you have to stand up for yourself. It's worth it in the long run.  Now, who's got a hook up with some discount bananas?

The End of the Beginning and Transition 2.0

Last September Jeff and Marisa sat us all down and told us the plan for our Transformation program: we were going to work out with them for a year and transform our lives.   At the time I felt like an interloper in the gym, a person who didn't belong.  I balanced precariously on the exercise ball I was sitting on in the group exercise room with the others, terrified that I was either going to fall off of it or that it was going to pop. I looked around at the group of strangers around me who had similar glazed over expressions on their faces.  A year. Wow.  Such a long time it seemed. At the time I was there because I knew it was my last chance, but I truly felt like I could grow a second head easier than I could do what they were telling us we were about to do. I was in near panic just sitting on that exercise ball amongst all of the fitness equipment, in such close proximity to people who - gasp - voluntarily exercised. 

Fast forward to present time. A year has passed. Those strangers have now become some of my dearest friends, the gym has become my happy place, I'm now a person that people come to when they have questions about the gym or the daily classes, and I'm no longer scared of the exercise ball.  I've crunched on it, bounced on it, balanced on it for push-ups, and stretched out across it on my back in the "I'm Ready Jesus" pose at the end of a hard workout. Amongst other things. 

How quickly a year passes... Yesterday was our last official workout of our program.  After our final official weigh-in (90 pounds lost!) Jeff and Marisa led us outside where we proceeded to jog through the parking lot and down to the river walk.  As we jogged I thought about the many walks Marisa and I have taken, the deep conversations, the increasing distances, and the random things we've seen like an abandoned pair of granny panties that were left around a pole for weeks and a huge raccoon that burst out of the rushes.  I thought about how I finally got Sylvia out there one day (she hates outside) for a walk, only to have a huge fish swim up along side the pier and go into death throws in front of us.  I thought about three weeks ago when Florence, Laks, and I took a walk and planned the next phase of our journey.  And I thought about the day Marisa made me sit down and up from a low piling until my legs shook and I didn't think I was going to make it back to the office.  That was the day I "got low" for the first time and my quads haven't forgotten it.

It was a fitting location for our last official workout.  We revisited those low squats, did quick step-ups on the pilings, bench dips on the actual benches (oh the irony), planks on the planks (okay I must be stopped) and ran, ran, ran.  All too soon though, it was time to head back inside. Too soon we were back in the gym and the workout was done.   We all kind of stood around in a circle, talking about how far we've come. I must admit I teared up, it was all a bit overwhelming.

But - we've got a good thing going that we intend to keep going.  We're going to continue our weekly weigh-ins and try our hands at training ourselves.  We have all the tools in our belt to move forward and take our journey to the next level, together. Transition 2.0 begins now.

Sometimes it's a Chore

There is a window of time in each day when even the most dedicated person loses momentum.  No matter how much you enjoy working out or how committed you are, there comes a point in your day when you just don't feel like working out. For me, this time of day is the evening.

I found myself today faced with this challenge.  I'd enjoyed a wonderful lunch with my Momma and brother during my hour break today and so I waited until after work to go down to the gym.  It was Monday.   I was tired.  It was nearly six o'clock and I was facing not only a forty-five minute ride home but also a trip to the grocery store and a load of laundry waiting for me at home.   What usually is something that I look forward to suddenly had become a chore. 

I've written about this before. It's how I feel every time I have to workout after work...unmotivated, grouchy, and nervous about how late the evening is getting. But I know that if I let myself skip one day, it gets just that easier to skip the next day, and then the next and that's how the momentum deflates.

Thank goodness some of my friends were in the gym and I didn't feel like I was there by myself. When your motivation is low, you just have to grasp on to anything that pushes you forward.  That being said, halfway through my run I heard a loud siren.   I jumped onto the sides of the treadmill and hit the emergency stop button.  Yanking my ear buds out, I looked around to see everyone else in the same state of exercise freeze frame. 95% of me was like, "Yes!  Fire alarm! Let me grab my stuff and get out of here!" 

But alas, the alarm was just a sound effect built into the track of the song playing on the speakers and I had to continue my workout.  I finished but I didn't push it like I normally would had I been working out at my normal time.  Days like today will happen and sometimes you just have to suck it up and get things done, but in order to get the most out of a workout, you need to pick a time of day that you are most motivated.  Either that or pray for a fire alarm.