Back in the Game!!!

Some of my devout blog followers and cheer-support members may have been a bit concerned by my behavior as of late. I mean, I didn't gain a pound by sticking to my diet...if ya know what I mean! Then, while reading Monday's blog post, everyone's hope should have been lifted, since I declared my resolve to be strict again. Well, my friends, I am back. I have stuck to my plan Monday, Tuesday AND Wednesday (ok, I had a tall chai latte with skim on Tuesday, but was still within my calorie allotment--I consider that success.)!!! And, today was an awesome workout. High stats. Love that!

My Stats:

Calories Burned: 583 (Treadmill)/606 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.91
Total Time: 60:27 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 130

Apparently it was Maroon5 Mix Day

Man. I fell off the wagon so hard last week. But I only gained a pound (and possibly maintained since I weighed so early in the day last week). So...whatever. I'll take it.

Back on the wagon. And I need to get back to being strict! I am cutting far too many corners. I think I should just say no to restaurants for awhile.

Also, when I put my iPhone on shuffle I swear it played the entire "Songs for Jane" album by Maroon5. Whatever...I like Maroon5. But I do question the randomness of the iPhone's shuffle function...

My Stats:

Calories Burned: 562 (Treadmill)/573 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.94
Total Time: 60:59 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 136

Yes, I did take my camera phone out in the JC Penney dressing room...

Here's me. In the dressing room. Wearing jeans TWO sizes smaller. I bought two pair. :)

"We Missed You, Erin"

Back to TEAM today!!!! Recall that I went to TEAM early on Monday. On Tuesday evening, I swam laps in the hotel pool in Tampa for about 20 minutes. It was a light workout, but a workout nonetheless.

I went back to TEAM. Didn't want to go, but I went. As I was walking from work to my car I could not recall if I remembered my gym bag. I hoped and hoped and hoped that I did forget it...but alas, I did not. I couldn't just skip the gym--I would let down all my peeps (BTW, I would like to take this moment to thank everyone who "likes" these notes and my statuses and comments...you truly are essential to my success!)!!!! So, I went. And I was all whiny inside.

But! Like always. Once I started, I rocked it! And I felt great! I didn't hold on at all. I didn't reduce speeds to lazy speeds. I kicked tookus!!!!

My Stats:

Calories Burned: 544 (Treadmill)/531 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.76
Total Time: 56:54 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 121

I signed up for a massage next Monday after TEAM (Thanks, Vyas family!!!)

I also had a minor breakthrough. I was having a rough-ish day on Thursday and rather than eat while I was upset--which was tempting--I bought myself a Coach purse!!! I traded one addiction for another...and boy! does it feel gooooooood. :)

Funny story from class today. New-ish trainer Brandon is going to take our class with us during the last week in August. (He may teach a TEAM class next cycle and the rules say he has to take some of it). Zak the Trainer wanted to split his push-ups he has to do with New-ish Trainer Brandon. I suggested they race. Zak the Trainer loved this idea. I informed Zak the Trainer that, as the official class push-up counter (yes, I am...), I would be happy to defraud the contest and help Zak the Trainer win. As I told Zak the Trainer--we're a family and "we're thick as thieves!" I think Zak the Trainer was flattered, although I never got the chance to prove my devotion because Newish Trainer Brandon totally pansied out. Laaaaaame.

So, you may be wondering what the title of this post is all about. Well, I was asking Zak the Trainer when we would run at the end of class again. It went something like this:

Me: Zak, when will we run at the end of class again?
ZTT: Umm, it's week...7? Probably week 10ish.
Me: ::sigh:: Oooo-kaaaaay.
Woman Next To Me: Run?!?!
ZTT: Light jogging, really.
Me (to the woman): It's waaaaaay better than all the laaaa-aaaame hills.
ZTT: We missed you, Erin.

Yes, yes you did. And I missed YOU, Zak the Trainer.

My Big Strong Trainer

So, I chose to go to the gym vs. do my laundry today. Considering that I am going to Tampa for 2 days, this is probably a bad choice. I have enough to stretch me til I get home Wednesday night, but Thursday morning is in the vast wasteland of the unknown. :) It may be a late Wednesday night.

Anyways, glad I went. I was able to weigh in and I lost two pounds (35 total)! Now, the weigh in was at 10 am which is much earlier than my normal 6 pm weigh in, so that may account for one of the pounds, but whatever! I will take it... AND, the fact that I did not gain from the Chrysalis weekend is stinkin' awesome!!!

My Stats:

Calories Burned: 538 (Treadmill)/546 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.52
Total Time: 54:03 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 127

Melissa taught the 10 am class. It was a good class--a little rough because I missed Friday, hydrated a lot less this weekend and am exhausted (Tangent: my body is apparently used to less than 6 hours of sleep each night--here's to being wide awake at 6:30 am today). During the cool down Zak the Trainer showed up. We had previously discussed Zak the Trainer and how he does push ups for the evening class. I suggested that Zak the Trainer do the push-ups (with claps) for each pound I lost. The other women in the class talked him into doing it for all of us. It was only fifteen push ups and he did them with claps! It was fun. I told him he was my big strong trainer. I think he secretly loves that...

Missing Wednesday's class, but back on Friday. If there is a pool at my hotel, I may try to do laps tonight and/or tomorrow night. IMYA. :)

C-H-R-Y-S-ALIS!

YAY! It was Chrysalis this weekend and it was AWESOME! YAYAYAYAY!

And, I think I will be ok at weigh-in (if I make it to the gym tomorrow--gotta do laundry, go to work AND be at the airport at 2:30ish--unsure if I can take that long at the gym at 1000).

I didn't eat too many sweets (really I think just a twizzler pull and peel and some cookies...). I also only ate at the three meals (other than the sweets listed above). At a really late party we had, I didn't eat ANYTHING. SCORE!!! I said (out loud...several times): "I do not need to eat food just because it is in front of me. I am not hungry." Even though the evil Kaila Contestabile tried to tempt me into eating a yummy chocolate eclair--her wiles did not work on me.

Also, Linda is a certified personal trainer (score!)!!! So when I shared with her Zak the Trainer's workout plan for me (which I neglected to mention to y'all) of 20 body weight squats, a 30 second plank and 10 push-ups a day, she did them with me. AND, the teen girls loved it too! I had a whole little workout group going. I did the whole set twice Friday and twice Saturday. Sweet!!!

New Roommate FTW!!!

::long sigh::

So, today was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Well, perhaps I am being a touch over-dramatic. But it was yicky. I had back to back to back meetings. Also, I am on leave tomorrow and Friday for Chrysalis. Then I go on a business trip (to Tampa!...rough, I know) from Monday to Wednesday. I had to get my regular work done, get ready for the business trip, and deal with putting out fires. At 2pm, while driving to one of my many meetings, I realized that my gym bag was not in my car. Oh noes! I left it at home. And this meeting goes til 4pm! And I have to go back to my desk and close up! And! And! And! There's not enough time! "There's no time! There's no time! There's NEVER enough time!!!" So...maybe I should just skip it. I am tired. I am stressed. I have SO much to do. I could go tomorrow morning. Will I go tomorrow morning? I don't know what to do!

But then, like a lightbulb going *ding* above my head, I thought: Elyse has the day off! Maybe she can bring me my gym bag... So I called her, and she could AND SHE DID! New roommate FTW!!!! Yet another near-skip averted. Slippery Slope: 0, Erin: 2.

I played my music again today (in one ear only, of course) and I also did not want to be there, so I went it with an attitude of just getting it done. I noticed something though. I work so much harder when I am gritting my teeth and wanting to just get through it. I feel like lately I have been a bit lazy--slowing my speeds a little, holding onto the treadmill a lot, taking breaks during the band and weight exercises or doing them half-heartedly. Monday and today, I was all in. I really pushed it. I am not sure if it is my inner rage or bitterness for having to be there when I feel so blah or the music, but I was a machine. This is definitely a good thing. I need someone to anger me or stress me out before every TEAM workout. ;)

My Stats:

Calories Burned: 552 (Treadmill)/570 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.87
Total Time: 60:03 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 120