P90X and the Mile

Hello out there! Here’s the run-down: I lost 2.8 pounds two weeks ago, and gained 1.2 pounds this week. I cannot consistently lose to save my life right now.

P90X is going great. I’ve been making it to most of the classes and have also been getting in some jogs and swims outside of the P90X schedule. Last weekend, Clay and I did the Pine Creek Trail. I don’t have my pictures downloaded from my camera yet, but it was gorgeous. The most picturesque trail I’ve been on, ever.  We did 40 miles on Saturday and 23 miles on Sunday. I could have done more on Sunday, but it was a long drive back to Greensburg and I was excited to sit and relax. I told Clay that I would like to go back in the fall and bike the whole trail! Yikes! That would be 120 miles in two days. Do you think I can do it? After riding the trail and seeing the surface and the grade, I think I can. I know I can!

We’re doing another bike trip this weekend. This time we’re staying in Cumberland. It’s supposed to be 90 degrees on Sunday. I told Clay that I would bike as much as I could but I don’t bike well in that kind of heat. We’ll see. Maybe a cold front will set in between now and Sunday.

Ahh! I forgot to tell you guys! I jogged for a WHOLE MILE last week. And then I did it again this week and beat my record! Now, my record is way slow, as you can imagine (14:26 the first time; 14:10 the second), but the important thing is that I kept jogging. I never once stopped to walk, even though walking might have proved to be faster at times. I held the form. For over 14 minutes, I held the form. I was giddy both days I did it. Texts were flying from my phone like crazy. Oh boy. I ran a mile!

So that’s it for me. What’s going on in your world? Give me the low down, the deets, the chicken scratch.

Weigh-in and Updates

Hey guys. Look at me missing my weekly entry. I didn’t mean to, I promise. I’ve just been working a lot. Good news, though: I lost one pound last week. I’m also doing P90X religiously (well, the days I am at work; I missed yesterday and will miss Wednesday and Thursday this week because of training). I love it so far. Each workout is challenging and insanely hard. I know I’m only on week three, but I thought the routines would become, well, routine and, thus, boring. But they haven’t. Not yet. Next week we switch up the order of the workouts so that will mix it up a little.

This weekend is the Pine Creek Trail bike trip. I just finished making my packing list. I love love love writing out packing lists. Because it means I’m going somewhere.  And, for all those who know me, you know that I love going somewhere. Anywhere. All the time. Always. Let’s go.

Clay is making ham and cheese rolls (about 7 PP per serving), and I’m packing rice cakes, (2PP per serving), fruit snacks (2 PP per serving), peanut butter (3 PP per serving), and fruit (probably a few apples). If you’ll recall, last season, when we climbed the mountain in Cumberland, I finished the first days’ ride by guzzling down a burger, fries, and cheese balls. I’m hoping this year I can control that a little more. Even if I indulge in one of those things (because sometimes a girl just needs a burger, you know?), I am hoping to be strong enough to replace one of the other items with a salad.

I’m not setting a mileage-goal for this trail. Mostly because it’s all uphill, and I don’t do well with uphill rides. So my goal is to bike as long as I can bike. I know that the way back will be all downhill, so I hope knowing that will push me to ride farther than I think I can.

I have felt so successful and healthy these past few weeks. I knew I would get back into things once my class was over. The arrival of spring has helped, too. So here’s to another good week. I hope everyone out there is doing well, too, and enjoying this fine weather.

Weight loss this week: 1 pound

Total weight loss: 39 pounds

Weigh-in (Belated)

Hello, there! Although it’s late in coming, I was up a whopping 4 pounds last week! I’m not too down about it though because my feet were very swollen from all the ACTIVITY I’ve been getting. Plus, my muscles were sore, which means they were swollen, too. So I was just a big swollen mess.

I weighed myself Saturday morning, when my swollenness had all but disappeared, and had already lost the 4 pounds. So what made me all swollen? Glad you asked. Here’s my activity for last week and a half:

Thursday: Spinning
Friday: Swimming
Saturday: Painting (oh yes, this is an exercise -- just talk to my arms about it)
Sunday: 24-mile bike ride
Monday: P90X Chest & Back
Tuesday: P90X Plyo

Wednesday: P90X Legs & Back

Thursday: P90X Shoulders & Arms

Friday: Off

Saturday: Arc Trainer workout

Sunday: Off

Monday (today): P90X Chest & Back

I should also let you know that I’ve been tracking diligently. I whizzed through my extra points, yes, but I tracked them all and didn’t go into the red. I’m going to see how the scale reads this week and then I might try to NOT eat my activity points each day. Maybe that will show a bigger loss each week.

In other news, Clay and I booked our hotel for the Pine Creek Trail weekend, and we decided to do another bike trip to Cumberland on Memorial Day weekend.

P90X is working out great. I needed to add weight lifting to my cardio, but could never muster up the motivation to do so. I think I’ll be ripped by the time this is over. I need to make sure I get my cardio in though. I did good this week. I’m going to aim for one cardio day per weekend if I can. I wanted to go swimming on Saturday morning but there were no free lanes. I found that after a week of heavy leg activity, my legs were cramping up and very tired. Swimming would have been perfect for that dilemma. Oh well, maybe next weekend.

Back to work for me. It’s gonna me one hellish week I’m afraid.

Weight loss this week: +4 pounds

Total weight loss: 38 pounds

Weigh-In and Data Download

I'm down .4 pounds today. That's two weeks in a row that I've lost. I haven't done that many times since January. So go me!

I could have lost so much more this week. Last Friday I was at my lowest weight since starting WW, which was 1.8 pounds lower than my weigh-in today. But the weekend happened. I tracked, which is better than I had been doing, but I tracked after I ate. Now, what good does that do me? If I see that I'm eating too many points, I can't take them back if I track after I eat them.

Good thing I'm usually a pre-tracker.

Things are going well in the activity department. I got in a swim on Tuesday and a gym work-out yesterday. Today I have spinning, tomorrow another gym workout (maybe swimming, not sure yet), and Saturday I'm volunteering to fix up a house, so that will be lots of activity. Ahh. It feels good to be active again.

The 5K was my best yet. Not time-wise. But a few things happened that have never happened before:

1. I didn't get as fatigued as I have on all my other 5Ks.
2. I didn't get any blisters on my feet. Not a single one.
3. My hands didn't swell as much (my hands always swell when I take long walks).
4. It was easier to keep up my pace.

The scenery was gorgeous, and chatting with my sisters the whole time helped a lot.

Clay and I booked our hotel for our Pine Creek Trail weekend. Have I told you that the trail is all uphill? Well it is. Oh boy.

Speaking of Clay, he tried roasted brussel sprouts for the first time last night. Remember those little guys and my obsession with them? Well, Clay poo-pooed them for a long while until I made him try them last night. Guess what? You betcha. He liked them. We ate them with a veggie omelet, which was also pretty tasty. A no-carb dinner. How 'bout that!

Weight loss this week: -.4 pounds
Total weight loss: 42 pounds

You Rush, You Forget

I was rushing through my post yesterday and forgot that I do have some tidbits for you guys. Oh yes, I do.

1.       I’m doing another 5K tomorrow with two of my sisters. This one is at St. Vincent college in Latrobe and benefits The Trooper Kenton Iwaniec Memorial Foundation.

2.       The gym at work is starting P90X at the end of this month. I’m going to get some much-need weight-lifting in and I’m pretty excited about it. Lara, the gym director, took spinning off the schedule. Actually, she rearranged it so I am no longer to do spinning, so I will miss out on that, but P90X has cardio days too, so I’ll get cardio in there. Plus I would like to keep up with swimming. AND, I can easily replace spinning with biking because . . .

3.       It’s bike season! Clay is putting my hitch on this Sunday, my ankle is feeling pretty A-OK, and we’re planning our first overnight bike trip for May: The Pine Creek Trail

See, so I did have stuff to tell you, I just forgot about it. What stuff do you have planned? Anyone out there ever do P90X? Am I going to die?

Weigh-in

I lost one pound this week. I've been diligently tracking and have been swimming a few times this past week.

I don't have much to say. Finals are coming up and I'm busy with that, plus a burst in work activity. The two combined have left me with little time to blog.

But I'll be back! After the semester is over I would like to get back into my picture-a-week posts. So hold tight.

Weight loss this week: -1 pound
Total weight loss: -41.6 pounds

Memory Lapse

I'm an idiot. I've been sitting on my butt for two weeks waiting for my foot to heal, telling myself that letting it heal is what's important right now, not exercising.

Meaning, I COULD BE SWIMMING!!! Why haven't I thought of this?

I will be packing up my suit this weekend and going for a nice, long swim. I feel healthier just thinking about it.