Games of Hunger

I'm currently reading The Hunger Games and cannot seem to put it down. Not giving away any of the story, but it involves a heroine who is taken from a desolate life where there is very little to eat to a gleaming capitol city to compete in a fight to the death. When she gets to the Capitol, she's given abundant amounts of rich, wonderful food and she definitely indulges in it, sometimes to the point of making herself sick, because she's used to a life of near starvation.

In Kickboxing today I started thinking about The Hunger Games and how it kind of translated to real life.   How many times have I indulged myself because I was at my favorite restaurant?  Or at a social get together where there were treats that I don't usually allow myself?  Or better yet, because it was Thanksgiving or Christmas?  As illogical as it is, a lot of times don't we approach food like it's the last time we're ever going to have an opportunity to have it? Or worse, ramp our calories back with some crazy fad diet that can't be sustained for the long run, until we finally break and over indulge like we're at our first feast at the capitol city.

Today I wasn't in an arena in a televised struggle to the death like in The Hunger Games, but this is still the fight of my life and I need to treat it as such.  That being said, I highly recommend the book.  I made sure I didn't bring it with me to work because I would have been tempted to skip the gym at lunch and use my hour reading.  Be warned if you decide to read it: it's highly addictive.

What Do You Do When You're Not Feeling It?

For one reason or another, today I just wasn't feeling it.  We all have those days.   Days when our bodies are tired and minds are busy and it seems like all our motivation went down the drain with the dregs of our morning coffee.  We all wish that we could wake up every day feeling like a rock star, but what do you do when instead you feel like an old lounge singer wearing the worst leisure suit in town? What do you do when you just don't feel it?

That was me today as I headed off to Step class. I was sore, tired and dragging. My problematic right quad, that seems to have a permanent strain, had me getting up from a seated position in a walk that started out like Frankenstein and ended up with a slightly less than normal half limp.  The Step routine today was new and challenging (which was awesome) but my legs started cramping halfway through and my workout pants were too long (turns out that happens when you lose weight, who knew?) so I kept tripping over them as I went up and down my step.  I just wasn't feeling it. But I kept going because:

• Quitting one time makes it all the more easy to quit the next time. 
• Any workout, even one where I'm not your best, is beneficial.
• Giving myself an out when I know I can keep going can create a snowball affect.
• If I'm moving, no matter what modification I have to make, I'm doing something. 
• Sometimes success means plugging away at something every day, so that on those days when I don't feel like working out, I just do it because that's my routine.
• Sweat always makes me feel better.
• Not even Mick Jagger is a rock star every day. Some days even he "can't get no satisfaction."

No Rest For The Weary

I would like to say thank you so very much to all of you for your kind comments, reading my blog, and celebrating the milestone of my first 5K with me.  All of these things motivate me and push me along the miles of this journey! I have had such overwhelming support and it is something I regard as a humbling blessing every single day.

A mood of celebration from the race was still in the air today as my Transformation girls and I met up in the gym for our workout.   We all still had a happy glow about us from our success on Saturday that probably won't wear off for a while.  We have faced many firsts together on this quest, and the 5K was an important milestone for sure. 

Changing out in our locker room, the race was the number one topic whether it was shared observances, how sore we were afterward, the level of laziness we achieved on Sunday, or wondering when the next 5K was, because we've all caught the fever.  There's no rest for the weary though, and soon we had to get to our workout.

Because we're junkies, we'd picked a tough one for today, starting out with ten push-ups followed immediately by a ten second plank, repeated five times without rest.  Yeah, our legs were trashed from Saturday so we'd decided to even it all out and take out our arms.  We followed this with ten squats followed by a ten second static squat, repeated five times without rest.  Ever want to see something funny?  Stand across from your friend,do this set, and look at the expression on their face. Hilarious!

Next up were several different exercises with weights, then a row-off on the rowing machine (where I actually beat Millie's 250 meter time for the first time ever, yes I said it!) because after months of doing this exercise, I've finally figured out how to engage my arms and legs at the same time efficiently.  Personally, I think Millie was off her game today, but I'll take a victory however I can get it!

Our workout wasn't over yet and we went on to do more weights, the elliptical, the rower again, and some other things that left us all a sweaty mess.  It felt so good, and even though we are gym veterans by now, I think having completed the 5K has made us all feel fully legit...like athletes. It just goes to show that you don't have to be the fastest one of the pack. Rocky Balboa didn't win his fight in the first Rocky movie.  He went the distance and that was his victory. I was the last person across the finish line Saturday...but I went the distance and that was as good as any Olympic gold medal to me.

First 5K!

Friends when I tell you that a year and a half ago I struggled to walk very short distances, I am not exaggerating in the least.  Just contemplating walking a mile seemed like something way way out of my hemisphere.  Then I changed my life and began slowly increasing my distance in quarter mile increments.  By my side was one of my trainers, Marisa, who would trick me into going a little further each time by making me think we were just going for a stroll and a little girl chat.

Last December I made a goal to do my work's annual 5K this year. I dreamed of having some numbers on my chest and crossing a finish line, as I'd cheered on runners at other races over this past year of getting healthy.  Still, it didn't quite seem real when I picked up my race packet yesterday and pulled out my very first race bib with the number 81 on it. 

Well, it was a day of miracles, the first being that I actually hopped out of the bed at 5:30 am on a freezing morning (or any Saturday morning really being the night owl that I am).  I thought I would be dragging, but I was pumped and ready.  Still, as I was getting ready to go, the old fears crept over me and I remembered all too sharply the way I used to feel walking: out of breathe and lower back cramping making me feel like I was involuntarily curling into the C position. I haven't felt like that in a long time but would that happen today?

I sucked in my fears and headed out to the race with my cousin Devon (who was doing it with me), my husband and my Momma who had made me a sign that said, "Go Mint!" (one of my numerous nicknames in the gym).  Immediately I ran into Marisa and my wonderful Transformation team mates and the excitement started to grow!

Ready for the race: Krysta, Emma, me, Flo and Millie

Flo, me, Devon, Mary, Millie, Krysta and Emma

Who would have thought we'd be doing this a year ago? Almost time to race!

The air was frigid, but our spirits were up as we pinned on our numbers. My nerves started to grow again though as we lined up, Devon and I at the very back.

Almost time!

 Then the countdown began and we were off!  I waved goodbye to my husband and mother and felt fear clench in my stomach, why the heck am I doing this, I can't possibly finish. I was scared friends.  Even though I've been working out for a year, have flipped a 365 pound tire 18 times in 100 degree weather, and completed a two hour Zumba marathon, the distance factor was wigging me out.  That and the police car that followed behind Devon and I as we were the last ones in the pack.

But, as Devon and I always do, we started talking and laughing and the first blocks went by.  Along the way awesome volunteers cheered us on through the streets of historic downtown Wilmington.  We went up and down some big hills that in the past I have avoided like the plague and refused to set foot on.  We walked all the way down and past a restaurant that a group of co-workers walked to once at lunch and when I heard that they did it, I thought never in a million years could I do it myself.  We navigated cobblestones, waved to people and dogs, played a little Tupac and danced a little bit, and commented on the beautiful gingerbread houses of the historic district - all the while escorted by our own police officer who was very encouraging. And I didn't have to stop once.   My breathing was fine and I didn't feel tired at all.  

Soon we'd passed the half-way point, then the two-mile point, and then were on the home stretch.  We turned the corner to begin the straight shot back to the finish line and off in the distance I saw Millie (who had already finished) and Marisa heading towards us.   My heart swelled and I started waving my arms at them and picked up my pace. Then Lakshmi joined us and Marisa told us to jog.   As we always do what our trainer says, we picked up the pace. 

I started to get winded and Millie said, "Come on girl!  Your husband and your mother are waiting for you!" I picked it up, then slowed back down.  Marisa said, "Come on jog! You can do it! I've seen you do some amazing stuff in that gym!"  I picked up my pace.  We got closer and I could see the crowd.  Then I saw my husband and mother and started grinning.   Next Mary and Flo joined us and I was surrounded by my trainer and my Transformation girls.  With them I know I can do anything!   The crowd cheered and my husband stepped out and joined my side and we all jogged in together.  My cousin Devon even said, "This is like something out of a Lifetime movie!"  It was all just as I had pictured in my head that it would be and when I started lagging, Millie hooked my arm in hers and Eric got the other.  When we got close to the finish line though, I dropped their arms and picked up my pace to finish on my own steam.

Coming in.

A little blurry, but check out the looks on their faces; love this team!

YES! First 5K, done!

There were a lot of tears of joy and hugs all around, and an amazing sense of accomplishment. My Transformation group looked around at each other as if to say, can you believe we did that?

With our trainers: Flo, Mary, Marisa, Jeff, me, Millie, Lakshmi and Devon. Look at how far we've come!

Today was a major milestone, and Devon was right.  It was like something out of a movie.  I seriously doubt anyone will ever make The Jennifer Minter Story, but if they ever do, today's scene will definitely be in it!






 

Endurance

At the beginning of step class, Marisa announced that the goal today was endurance. We all looked around at each other as if to say, "Oh snap." And true to her nature, it was epic and just what I needed.  In my time working out, the word "endurance" has come up quite a bit and, when used in the gym, always means you're in for it. 

Endurance also is:

• Making it through a tough class, or a new class, whether you hit all the steps or not.
• Facing the scale on a regular basis, even you'd rather gouge your eyeballs out with a spoon.
• Getting back on track after a bad meal.
• Feeling defeated but fighting back anyway.
• Showing up every day, no matter whether your workout is perfect or not.
• Modifying what you can't do and making your workout fit your situation.
• Facing your fear, whether it be the gym, fit people, or foreign equipment, and sticking in there until eventually the gym is your happy place and those fit people are your friends and you know what to do with that equipment. 
• Shutting up that inner voice that tells you that you're tired, or you're fat, or you won't be successful. 

Even after these many months, these are all things that challenge me still.  Just today in step class, I felt tired and like I hadn't eaten enough prior to coming to class.  My inner voice listed all the reasons that I wouldn't be able to make it through class half-way in. It told me that I was too tired, too hungry, too sore, etc, winding me up until I almost gave up....then I recognized it for what it was and told it to SHUT UP!

I'm not super woman, but I've learned that even a former couch potato like me can endure. The secret is to simply quit thinking about all the reasons not to, or who's looking at you, or any of the other various things that our minds can craft to hold us back.  Miracles can happen when you tell that inner nay-sayer to SHUT UP.

 

 

Landmarks

Before the days of mapquest did you ever give or receive directions to a location based on landmarks? Like, "drive one mile and then you'll see a convenient store, turn there then go up three blocks until you see a used car lot.  Turn left at the car lot then go down to the second driveway on the left, the one with the mailbox that looks like a cow"?  I personally think this is much more effective that mapquest any day.

Back before we knew the proper names for equipment in the gym, we used to remember workouts this way.  Once, on one of our days without our trainer, Millie and I were getting ready to do a workout that we'd written down based on one we'd done with Marisa.  Examining the paper in her hand, Millie had told me, "Okay so we're going to do squat presses, then burpees, then rows, then we're going over to that machine where I cried that day and then we're going to do more squats and curl presses, then we're going over to do that exercise where you cried that day, then we're gonna..."  It was hilarious because without a beat, I nodded along and knew exactly what she was saying.

Today we broke out that old workout, only this time we knew the proper name of everything we were getting ready to do.  We still laughed about our old terms for everything because, after over a year of working out, we've definitely made "landmarks" all over our gym.  Instead of their proper names, certain spots in there could very well be called, "the place where I almost threw up that time," "the place where you called out for Jesus that time," or "the place where I refused to do it and then walked away and cried and then came back that time" among others. They could also be called "the place where I ran the first time," "the place where I realized I was getting stronger," or "the place where you pushed me forward that time" among many other wonderful "firsts."

Today Millie and I did a workout that we've done before, but this time we were able to push ourselves harder, step up our weights, and knew the proper terms for the equipment we were using.  We've been taught a lot and have gone past the novice phase of our transformations.  We can look back on times that we felt unsure of ourselves to the point where we cried and now find humor in it.  To me that just drives home the point that this process is truly a journey, something you have experience as it happens, not all in one fanatic burst. And learning that "that place where I cried that time" is really a smith machine is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Greatest Gift

Whew.  I think I survived Thanksgiving mostly unscathed. I wasn't perfect, but I wasn't awful...and as my wise friend Katie says, "it's persistence, not perfection" that counts.  Maybe we ate bad on Turkey Day and maybe the leftovers called our name the day afterward, but as one of my favorite characters from literature and movies, Scarlett O'Hara was famous for saying, "tomorrow is another day."  Maybe a holiday weekend of treating ourselves can motivate us towards a stricter plan for the upcoming weeks that will ultimately spur, not hinder, our weight loss. 

This is easily the most trying of times for dieters.  We're rushing around trying to get the right gift for everyone on our list, get preparations made for all of those holiday parties and family get-togethers, and trying to balance the usual family and work obligations.  It's a wonderful but stressful time of the year, two things that combine to make healthy eating and getting in regular workouts a challenge.  Like last year, this Christmas season I am going to try to keep at the forefront of my mind the fact that the greatest gift I can give myself and those who love me is health.