Foodmomiac

My husband went to Austin...

And all I got was this KICK ASS pair of boots.

In other news, my legs and butt are totally sore from an insane weight lifting class that I tried last night for the very first time. It is actually good to be wearing these boots, because I am walking like a cowboy who has just ridden a horse for three days straight.

Giddyap!

The Half Marathon in Photos

First, there was the line-up at the starting line. We were peppy! We were excited! The world was our oyster. (Thanks to Alice for the awesome photo!)

 

And then, 13.1 miles later, came the finish line. I was crying hysterically (tears of joy, I should clarify), Megen, my sister-in-law had apparently learned how to fly. Mission accomplished baby!

Yes, my hat had flaps. It's my lucky hat.

Next up? Chicago Marathon (the full monty). October 2 10, 2010.

Who's joining me?

Ready

Tomorrow, I leave for New Orleans. Sunday, I run my first half marathon. I know it's not the world's biggest feat. It's not 100 miles. It's not even 26.2 miles. It's not a triathalon. But... it's a half marathon, and I'm doing it. And I'm going to finish it.

I am a small person. When you are a small person, people automatically assume that you are really fit. This is not the case. I have never been really fit. I have never been really strong. I've just always been little. But now I'm getting stronger. I still have more to accomplish on that front, but I'm happy with where I am now, and I'm excited for whatever journey lies ahead.

A couple of weeks ago, I was running along Lake Shore Drive, and I started thinking about what it will be like to finish the half marathon. I'm not the fastest person in our group, so I am quite certain that there will be a bunch of people I know at the finish line. So I pictured them, standing there and cheering. And, I imagined the Zydeco music that will be playing, and how proud I'll feel at that moment. And I burst into tears. While running. On Lake Shore Drive.

This is going to be one hell of a weekend.

The continuing saga of me and exercise

I got an email the other day from a reader reminding me that I hadn't updated my 30-Day Shred blog category since late September. Sigh. Yes, I know.

The truth is, I haven't STOPPED doing the Shred. I did take a week off exercising, but then I got back into it. These days, I'm doing the Shred about two - three times a week. The problem is that I'm SO INCREDIBLY BORED with it. I have memorized everything that Jillian says. I can measure where I am into the lunging/biceps routine in Level Two, by noting whether she is talking about going jeans shopping or going bathing suit shopping (hint: when she mentions the bathing suit, you are almost done). In Level One, she says that if you feel like you are going to die, you should just follow Anita. In Level Two, though, she kind of develops a mean streak and says that you SHOULD feel like you are going to die.

I also know every blooper. In Level Two, Jillian turns her head the wrong way during the shoulder stretch. In Level Three, Natalie TOTALLY slacks off and skips part of an exercise and she gets away with it (unlike that time in Level Two that she gets caught - ha HA!).

So, yeah. Bored.

Yesterday, I surfed around the ExerciseTV options on Comcast ON Demand, and discovered a 20 minute Tae Bo workout. I was kind of excited, because I was a big fan of Billy Blanks back in the day. Sadly, this routine was pathetic. First, he has NO CLUE how to talk and workout at the same time. So, everytime he has something motivating or educational to share, everything stops. Second, he's wearing a loin cloth:

It's incredibly hard to watch someone wearing a loin cloth. Also, he looks a LOT like Lafayette, the drug-dealing, gay prostitute line chef on True Blood:

So, I'm kind of stumped. I LOVE the 30-Day Shred workout, but, UGH, it's hard to bring myself to do it every morning. I have the Wii Fit sitting downstairs and can easily move it to my bedroom TV for easy morning exercise, but is that the best solution? (Just read that a Jillian Michael's workout is coming to wii fit next year which will rock). Any other ideas? I have a treadmill. I have 5 pound weights. I need the workout to be 1/2 hour or less and to be do-able in my house.

Hannah Winner and 30 Day Shred Update

And the winner is....

Jill!!

Since there were only five entries, I asked one of my colleagues to pick a number between one and five. Very scientific!

Jill, I know what street you are on (Jill used to be my neighbor!!), but please email me the exact address, and I'll send out the card.

So, moving on to the 30 Day Shred. Today was my third day of Level Two. It's actually my twelfth day of doing the program (would be thirteen, but I skipped a day). I'm feeling good! Level Two is definitely WAY harder than Level One. I notice that the abs and cardio are more present throughout, so it's just tough for the entire twenty minutes. I need to get some new weights, and unless I want to start doing more laundry (which I don't), I need some more sports bras. I also think I need to start wearing sneakers. I do the Shred in my bedroom which has really thick carpet, but my calves are very sore from all of the jumping and I don't want to get injured.

You guys still sticking with the program? Noticing any differences? I feel a bit stronger, but I still can't button most of my jeans.

30 Day Shred and Random Stuff

I find it hard to believe, but I'm still doing the 30 Day Shred. Yesterday was Day 7 (Today, Day 8, hasn't happened yet - I just couldn't get up early). The hardest part is getting out of bed at 5:40 AM. Doing the actual exercises goes very quickly, so even when I'm at the point of total pain, it's OK, because Jillian (we're on a first name basis now) then switches to something else.

Here are some more of my thoughts:

- I understand the need for simplicity, but the use of only one set of weights seems kind of nutty to me. I mean, there is no way that the same weight I use for my shoulders is the weight I should be using for my chest and back (and biceps). I'm thinking of getting a few different weights and adjusting accordingly, because some of the exercises are too easy.
- Is Jillian wearing Michigan sweatpants in level one? If so, Go Blue!
- I'm planning on switching to Level Two on Saturday (after a full 10 days of Level One). I'm scared.

In other news, this week has been kind of wacky in our house because Michael had some traveling to do. Max is suddenly completely OBSESSED with Michael, so he spent much of the time whining for Daddy, and crying that he wasn't around. Dylan decided to flip out on the new au pair and start acting like a total B. She was literally taunting Tineke about her English language skills (which are actually quite amazing), and just being borderline cruel. Then, to top things off, she came home "sick" yesterday. Lucky for Dylan, the school called the house first (and not my office). I would have had her sent right back to the classroom since she wasn't vomiting and had no fever. Tineke didn't know to do that though, so Dylan got to come home and loaf all day. Anyway, Michael is back home and Dylan is being nice again, so hopefully things will even out a bit.

Weekend Update (and more shredding)

Dylan Doing 30 Day Shred
Originally uploaded by Foodmomiac

Well, this weekend was the soggiest ever in Chicago, (seriously - we set a record for rain. It was awful.) so we spent a LOT of time inside. In terms of my exercise program, this was a good thing. It wasn't hard to find time to fit in my 20 minutes! On the weird side, it meant that I had company. Dylan and Max both got in on the action. Max mostly jumped around and did some really bizarre arm bends. Dylan, though (as you can see) got really obsessive about the whole thing. She put on a bikini (not sure on that one) and grabbed my yoga mat. She actually did both levels one and two on Saturday, but she didn't really do any of the exercises at full strength (except for the jumping jacks), so she's basically just a cheater. A very cute cheater.

This morning was day 5, and I'm feeling good. I'm going to order the DVD so I can move up to Level two on day 11 (day two won't be available On Demand after tomorrow), and I can really see myself sticking with this for 30 days.

So, on to non-exercise updates. Dylan went to a great creative writing class on Saturday at this place. She was invited by Jessi, one of our favorite babysitters and now a member of my team at work! In addition to her babysitting and social media-ing, Jessi also volunteers at 826 Chicago, and she knew that this particular class would be great for Dylie. She was right - it was wonderful, and Dylan spent two hours of our rainy Saturday working on a sequel to one of her favorite story books. So cool.

I also did some cooking this weekend. Last night we had roast chicken, mashed potatoes and peas. Yum.

Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred - Day Two

ow.

Um, yeah. I was a little full of myself yesterday. Today I can barely walk. Doing the level one program while sore from the day before? OW.

Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred - Day One

After reading rave reviews from some of my favorite bloggers, I decided to take the plunge, and yesterday I publicly declared (on Twitter) that I was going to start Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. Today.

So, even though Michael kept pushing snooze, I forced myself out of bed at 5:40 and turned on the TV. I haven't yet purchased the DVD, but levels one and two (there are three levels total) are available right now for free on Comcast On Demand. The verdict?

I enjoyed myself! Her plan is based on the premise of 3-2-1. Three minutes of strength training, two minutes of cardio, one minute of abs. This series is repeated three times and is sandwiched by warm up and cool down/stretching segments. The total workout was only 20 minutes. By 6:15, I was outside walking the dogs.

The pain level was not as great as I expected, and I am NOT in shape. I was slightly sweaty, breathing heavily, and my legs felt weak when I was done. I think I'll jump up to level two pretty quickly. My legs (thighs, really) still feel kind of tired, and it's now 10:30am. I think the real test will come tomorrow and Saturday, since I know that muscle soreness often has delayed onset.

Finally, why am I doing this? A lot of people at work kind of rolled their eyes at me when I mentioned embarking on this 30 day program. I'm not overweight, and I don't think I'm fat. I'm a small person. That said, I can't button some of my favorite jeans, and that pisses me off. I don't necessarily want to lose weight, but I want to lose my belly pooch and have a more defined, more toned shape. I'd like to have a kick-ass body, not just a slim body. I want to be healthy.

On Twitter yesterday, a few people told me they were going to start the 30 day program along with me, and I hope some of my other blog readers will join too! Hopefully we can chat about this here in the comments. I think it will be fun. You in?