3rd 5K

So I said I was done with 5Ks for the summer due to the increasing heat...well I guess I was wrong about that.   When my husband, who obviously has caught the 5K bug from our race last month, said he wanted to do the local Blueberry Festival 5K, I grimaced. 

"It's gonna be hot." I said.

"You don't have to do it," he said. "I can do it by myself."  Ah reverse psychology, you know me so well.  Of course I was going to do it, if not for anything other than the shear fear that the minute I say I can't do something I'll be on that slippery slope back to my old ways. 

I prepared myself for the stifling conditions that usually accompany the Blueberry Fest (people literally fall out from the heat) but God blessed us with wonderful temperatures, a sunny day, and a shady flat course.   It was by far the biggest 5K I've done with upwards of 500 runners/walkers.

Like usual, my group (husband, sister and myself) got to the very back of the crowd that included my friends, cousins, and co-workers.  The music played, the runners stretched themselves in various positions, the serious competitors bounced up and down on their heels...and the three of us just hung out in the back making jokes and trying not to think about the miles ahead of us.  And then we were off...some of us faster than others that's for sure.

The hubs, my sister, and me...waiting to hit the road.

 

 

My friend and fellow fitness buddy, Vera, and I.

As with the other 5Ks I've done, I was excited to start, hated every footstep of those 3.2 miles, and then felt like a rock star as I crossed the finish line.  So maybe I wasn't finished with 5Ks until cooler temps...just as soon as I say I'm not going to do something, I find myself with some numbers strapped on going down the road.

A Week In The Life

• Monday morning is ushered in by the blare of the alarm clock and shock and awe that the weekend is over. 
• Have a lovely time trying to find gym socks that match in the load of clean clothes that were neglected in all-day trip to the beach the previous day. Give up trying to establish problem solving skills and decide instead on one with a green stripe and one with a pink stripe, hoping in the mad rush in the locker room no one will notice.
• Drag into work, the strap of the gym bag cutting into the freshly sunburned flesh on my shoulder with a sinking premonition of how good my sports bra is going to feel going on later. 
• Show up early to Sculpt class in anticipation of staking out my usual spot on the back row.  Put down strategic sticky note with name on it so that my spot won't get snaked while I'm in the locker room...realize others have done the same.
• Power through Sculpt in a standing room only crowd...chat between crunches with girlfriends set to a soundtrack of Pitbull and Lady GaGa.  Decide I have Cirque Du Soleil acrobatic skills while doing mountain climbers with gliders on my feet...lose footing and almost twist self into human pretzel and decide it is just the opposite.
• Creep out of bed to the cries of the Tuesday morning alarm, again shocked that it's already morning. Immediately feel yesterday's deep lunges and do a nice little rap of "ouch, ouch, ouch" on the way to the shower.
• Show up at the gym and realize that I accidentally booked the workout room for 3 instead of 2 so the girls doing Brazilian Butt Blast have the room instead of my group.  Improvise and lead the group in workout poker out in the gym.  Try not to think of what we look like doing starfish crunches out in front of everyone.  Also discover potential sabotage as the stopwatch my trainer loaned me cranks out the longest minute intervals known to man.  The girls and I conclude that it must be rigged.
• Wednesday brings with it hurting muscles and a challenging Step class.  At the end of the class I resemble one of the zombie dancers from the Thriller video and look as if I've traveled through a Brazilian rain forest.  Spend the rest of the day doing a fine Godzilla impression limping from my desk to the copy room and back.
• Roll into Tabata class today to see that the room has been set up in stations, one being fun with a hula hoop.   Realize quickly that all the Zumba hip swinging skills I've developed can't help me at all with the hula hoop.  Finish up the circuit rotating the hoop around my neck and work up a good enough sweat. The sweat continues to build until the plank rotation round and I'm literally sliding around the floor.  Attempt plank on flat yoga mat...too slippery.  Attempt plank on thick mat and continue to slide. Move over to planking on the floor and find hands continue to slide out from under me.  Decide that this adds to the challenge of my plank and soldier through to the mountain climber-glider round where the humidity increases my "acrobatics". 
• Collapse into chair tonight relishing the fact that tomorrow is an off day at the gym in anticipation of my third 5K on Saturday morning.
• Question my sanity again as I do before any 5K and decide to limp on off to bed.

"The Cure For Anything is Salt Water"

My sister and I after a day in the pool.

There have been a few summers in my life that I didn't enjoy very much because I didn't feel very good physically or about myself.  There have been a few summers I sat on the sidelines and watched everyone else enjoy my favorite activities (precisely what's going on in the "before" picture in my blog banner).  But for the most part I have been a summer-loving water baby. Last summer I attacked life with a new found vigor that came from my release from an unhealthy lifestyle and unwanted pounds.  This summer has started out, and is going to be, even better.  

Summer can also be a great time to boost your weight loss activities.  Some of the reasons why:

• We trade comfort food for healthier fare cooked outside on the grill.
• The abundance of fresh fruits and veggies: some of my favorites being tomatoes, corn on the cob, and watermelon.
• You always strive harder when you know you have to put on a bathing suit the next day.
• Water activities that make exercise fun.
• Fresh air that reinvigorates the spirit.
• You don't want to eat as much when it's hot.
• Added resistance from the sand brings an extra calorie burn to a walk on the beach.
• Fresh seafood, enough said.
• Summertime always brings out the kid in people, and what do kids do?  They run around, play, and burn calories.
• The higher temps and humidity makes you sweat more...and sweating is always good.
• And last but not least: everyone always looks skinnier with a tan.

I'll close with one of my favorite quotes: "The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea”~ Isak Dinesen.