Weekend eve

Happy Thursday! I hope you are having a fantastic week so far. I know here in PA, we have had semi-nice weather, so I have been going outside as much as possible. Also, going outside of my comfort zone a little bit too. You know, you  have to spice up life. Anyway, as you know, I didn't make it to the pool on Monday morning, by body told me it needed a rest day. Tuesday, I called out of work because some of my colleagues thought I had pink eye and since 1- I am a nurse and 2- it is highly contagious, I needed to make sure it wasn't that. Thankfully, it is just a stye in my eye, which I have been resting aka not wearing make up to see if it will get better. (Yesterday I woke up with no signs of anything pink). So, Tuesday I hit the treadmill for 3 miles. It was the hardest 3 miles ever, I am not sure why, but I made sure to push my way through it. I had to stop and take a breather, which is weird for me,  but then I continued the run. I was so glad I didn't give up, something in my past I know I would have done.
Yesterday, was my scheduled day off so after I took the babes to daycare, I hit the pool. I felt great! I swam 3/4 of a mile and loved every minute of my time in the pool. I can tell that the running is helping my swimming and that the swimming is helping my running. I was also supposed to run 4 miles yesterday, but instead I went to a fitness class with my BFF at the Y. Let me just tell you, just because it is at the Y, it was no joke. As a matter of fact, I woke up today and am sore, something I am not used to. My legs aren't sore, but my arms and shoulders are, from all of the arm work we did. Makes me wish I had off more Wednesdays so I could go to this class again. As much as I hated looking at myself in the mirror the entire time, I am glad I pushed myself out of the comfort zone even if it is just twice a month. I will hopefully be making that a twice a month happening as my schedule allows.
Today, I will be doing 4 miles, most likely on the elliptical. After working 10 hours, I just want to get it done, and for some reason I can push myself really hard on there. Tomorrow will be 3 miles and then on Saturday will be my first bike ride in I don't know how long. I will post more about that Saturday after the ride. Some words of wisdom for this week...

from here 

from here

Have a great day my pirate matey's! Have a fantastic rest of the week! Until we chat again, SweatPink!

Twisted Thursday

For cross training lately, I have been swimming, but I have also been using the elliptical machine. I don't hate it, but really, running outside is by far more superior in my eyes. Today, I thought I would mix things up a little bit. Since I am so totally addicted to the tv show Once Upon A Time, I thought maybe I would try to watch an episode while running on the treadmill. Well, it managed to distract me enough to get my 3 miles in AND not loathe the treadmill. It does lead me to think that there is a possibility that I might run some more on the treadmill and elliptical. MAYBE just maybe it isn't terrible if I have something to distract the fact that it is the dreadmill after all.  Just when I think I enjoy it, I remember this....

 

and, for when I want to quit...

This adventure is so totally worth it. Everything that I am doing will pay off with every race I do, every run I have in everything I do. There is more to life than running, it's just that running as more spice! Running is where I do my thinking, where I get to be me. It's me time, even if I am running with someone else. It's all about clearing the mind, and knowing that the rest will follow. Work hard, live hard, play harder. Everything IS worth it!

Have a great weekend eve.

A week worth of weakness and no excuses

And I hadn't blogged. I really need to work on that. I am going to try to start today, I can't promise that you will always get these long posts, but something is better than nothing right? So, what happened in the past week. I ran 4.5 miles pain free on Saturday. I had yoga again on Sunday. Yesterday was my day off. I am realizing that I am cramming in a lot of things on my day off and I need to try to limit what I do. There really is only a little bit of time in 8 hours. Well, yesterday I had a Physical therapy appointment which to put it nicely was emotional for me. I am not used to being injured, but also not used to being told I was weak. It wasn't a jab at me personally, but at my physical fitness. Through therapy, the therapist has learned that my hips are really weak, and that is the reason why I am having the foot pain. My hip gets tired, and it transcends to my foot which gets tired and then my foot strike changes and alas, I get the foot pain. It just wasn't something I was expecting to hear, but, it isn't really a set back right?!? If I know what is weak, I know what I have to do to recover. By recovering, I will get stronger and then I can run a pain free half. Which, is important to me since I have 3 half marathons on my radar for this year. I believe without reservations, that I will be able to complete those half marathons, its just a matter of strengthening my hip and getting rid of the pain.
Anyway, I had some free time yesterday from when I was finished visiting with a friend to when I had to pick my daughter up from day care. I had run every excuse in my head, "not enough time," "she will be disappointed if I don't pick her up early," yadda yadda yadda. I was talking with a friend and her text one text hit me hard "no excuses."  So, I threw all those excuses out the window, I ran home, grabbed my swimming stuff and headed to the Y. I managed to get in a 1/2 mile in 20 minutes. With enough time to get the exercise in, and still get M from daycare. I felt so much better since I was able to get it in, and I know that I didn't feel like my day was a waste.  I have my friend to thank for telling me "no excuses" and that is my mantra.  It will be applied to more than just my fitness, it will be applied to where ever I can.  Hopefully that means more blogging, more photos of life as it happens, more enjoyment of everyday life.
But, I better get moving. I have to get ready for work and I want to do 10 burpess before I shower. I hope you have a great day! Remember, to live today to the fullest, and make "no excuses!" Sweatpink, sweat strong just remember to sweat!
 

Something new

I keep saying that 2013 is going to be my best year yet. I hope I am not setting myself up for failure. Scratch that, I am not. While running 3 days a week is almost impossible with the hubs and I working opposite shifts, I think I have developed another plan that will work just as well. Starting next week, I will be getting up early  on Monday mornings and head to the local Y and swim (preferably a mile) but just get moving. Then, on my day off meet up with a friend (Hi, Bonnie) and head to Lehigh Parkway and run. Yesterday we ran 4 miles and maybe should have started a little earlier. That is my fault, but we made it work. Then I have my running with BCR on Saturdays. And, eventually I will get my bike back I can throw that in when Bonnie and I can't meet up. Starting this Sunday, I have my first of 8 weekly yoga sessions. I am so excited. I have to back off of Insanity right now, when my feet get tired, they cause me pain, and since I don't want to cause more injury to my foot while rehabbing, I am going to do whatever the therapist says.
So while ultimately I do want to get back to running 3 days a week, I am going to go at it slowly and optimistically. I believe that all of the things I have planned will help my running, and since 1/2 marathon training starts next month, I want to make sure I am moving on the right path. My training plans calls for cross training, I will already be doing that, and I in the process I am also starting my triathlon training. This going to be a busy summer/fall, and I cannot wait to see what comes of it!! Hang on, it's going to be a fun and exciting year!
Hope you have a great Thursday! After work today I will be doing my assigned at home stretches from therapy. Hope you move and shake your pirate booty!
Have a great day me mateys!

Stepping up the game

Happy New Year! I hope 2013 started off well for you. For me, it's been kinda hectic, but sometimes I think that is the only way I know how to function. Anyway, just like I said on my other blog, one of my resolutions is to make more me time. In the me time, I have included blogging, so hopefully there will be some more of that.  Another one of my resolutions is to run more half marathons this year, but let's not jump to that one just yet.  The first thing that I knew I wanted to do was tackle Insanity. Yes, I am still doing it, and yes it is still hard. However, I realized quickly that my running shoes weren't going to cut it as cross trainers, and I began to do the workouts barefoot. (A bad idea with DJD and a neuroma) so I looked painstakingly hard, to find the perfect cross trainer. Thanks to a coupon I got from DSW for my birthday, I found these beauties...

All I know about these shoes are that they are New Balance Training, and the tops of the shoes have a lot of give, which is good for my fat feet. They are super comfy and they are so much better than doing Insanity bare foot. I am going to try them out without socks, and I will let you know what the verdict is.  I liked the sticker that was inside the box...

I really have no idea what this is referring too, but I felt like it spoke to me since I try to do most of my Insanity workouts as a wake up. It is also a wake up for me to finally get serious about this whole cross training business.

Also, here are my Insanity results. if anything, I learned how much stronger I am getting even with being inconsistent, but makes me want to see how consistency will pay off.

And finally, one last picture. It is way past my bed time, but I thought I would share this. It is fitness related (kinda). It made me chuckle and I hope it makes you as well.

Good night my pirate mateys! I hope you have had a fantastic week so far! Here's to more pirate adventures!

Dig deep

Have you ever done Insanity? Are you crazy enough to attempt it? Have you ever counted how many times Shaun T says it during a workout? Where do they get their music from?!?! LOL, all of these were the wonderful things I was thinking working out today. Today was Pylo day. It really should be called sweatfest, but who would buy that? "I'll take one sweatfest today please!" I know I am crazy. I must be. But still, I took some time off of Insanity last week to try to work out some kinks in my life, and if you know me irl, you know there are many. So, I promised myself that I would do whatever I can to make me a better me, a better wife and mom. And, I am doing just that. I have a half marathon in April that I totally want to rock, and therefore I am doing what I can  to help cross train right now. I have to say that I am not sure if it is me who is changing or if I just didn't work as hard at the beginning (ok 2 weeks ago when I started) but I am not only sweating more, but I also think I am slowly starting to be able to do more of the workout before I feel like I.must.die. That is the point right? I am also at a point in my life right now, where I am able to turn my head off and be asleep by 10-1030 at the latest and sleep until 6 am. This is one of the biggest changes that I have made so far in my life. I used to go to bed at 12 or 1 and get up at 6, how I managed that, I have no idea. However, all of this sleep is amazeballs (as my sister would say). I actually wake up refreshed and not tired. While I still don't know if I dream yet, I am ok with that because at least I know I am sleeping. What does that have to do with working out, since this is my workout blog. I feel that getting more sleep is directly related to my level I can bring to my workouts. The better rested I feel, the more I bring. So I can dig deep, over and over!

I am also trying something new, well new to me. I am not sure if I was ever well hydrated before. So, thanks to someone (I don't remember who, if it's you, please let me know so I can thank you) was talking about this app called Water balance where I am able to track my water intake and actually see how hydrated I am. I am one of those visual learners, so for me to actually "see" how much water I am drinking and how hydrated I am motivates me to drink more and turn more blue. I think yesterday I had to drink 1.3L of water! To me that is a lot of water, but I also noticed I didn't get a headache either. Hopefully I can keep it up!

If you read my blog last week, you saw that I had a doctor's appointment to find out about the pain in my foot. Well, if you follow me on Facebook, (if you don't do it NOW) you know that today I got the results of my MRI. It shows that I have some arthritis in my sesmoid bone of my big toe (yes, I said that right, my big toe)

Photo from here

and that between my second and 3rd toe I have a neuroma,

Photo from here

and that I have Achilles contracture. The doctor is hoping that the Achilles contracture will be corrected with Physical therapy and that an adaptive orthotic will help relieve the pain of the sesmoid bone and the neuroma. So, I start physical therapy on New Year's eve. I don't think I have ever needed physical therapy as much as I have since I started running, but I definitely wouldn't change anything for the world, unless the doctor says I have too. 

So, here's to nothing and to continually having to dig deep.  I have no idea what 2013 will bring me fitness wise, but I am working on a Fitness to do list that I will turn into a blog post as soon as it's done.

What have you done lately that had you dig deep?

I am going Insane!!!

No, I haven't lost my mine. Or wait, maybe I have. But, since I feel like my weight loss has hit a plateau, I am trying to kick it up a notch. So, I started Insanity. Today was only the Fitness test, and I have 4 words for you...it kicks your a$$! Sorry for the expletive, but seriously, I thought I was somewhat in shape, then I did this and oye vey! The next 60 days are going to be interesting. Is it bad that I am looking forward to my rest week already?!? No, seriously I am excited to see what Insanity will do for me and my roundness. If you saw me post on facebook about getting beach wedding ready, no, I am not renewing vows, but I have a cousin who is getting married at the beach this summer and I am looking forward to going, just not looking forward to the bathing suit part. So, hopefully after finishing insanity, I will be bathing suit ready. I will finish Insanity the end of Jan. I will try to do it again in June to do last minute tone-ups before the wedding. I know that the wedding is not about me, but I want to be comfortable on vacation, and yes, I am using the wedding as my excuse.
I don't have a lot of running on my plate so far for 2013, I am really going to try to find different races, races that are not only fun, but also longer than 3.1 miles.  So far, I have a 5 mile race this Saturday. I guess people usually get a costumed up, and maybe I still will, but I am more worried about staying warm than dressing up.  Who knows, I still might.We will see how this week goes. My allergies have been a little jacked up. I am on allergy medicine and while I feel like I am going die at times, I also think I am starting to feel a little better. However, while I let it keep me from running the stairs, (I cannot believe I didn't go) I didn't let it keep me from doing Insanity. I may just may need my inhaler to do the workout, and now seeing a Robitussin commerical, I may need that as well, but I will get through Insanity. Some of my friends are a day a head of me, I am looking forward to the jello legs and those fun things that they are telling me. I will bring in the New Year with Insanity. To help celebrate the new me, and leave the old me behind. Who knows what a little Shaun T will do.

So, hopefully I will blog about my Insane adventures every day, but I also hope I don't bore you. Happy Monday! What are you doing to get through the holiday season and bring in the new year?!?!

Sad yet exciting day

Today, is a sad yet exciting day. How is that possible, you may be thinking, well sit right there and I will tell you. Today is the night before Thanksgiving. Ok, still don't get it. Thanksgiving last year was my first 5K race EVER!! And here it is, the eve of that day 1 year later. I am running that race again tomorrow, as I may every year because of it's significance to me, and I cannot believe how far I have come.  Today, I took down my display of my race bibs from Nov 2011-until today. When I started running, I only imagined signing up for that one race, but something clicked. I never felt so alive as I am running. It's my chance to push myself, and it was something I wouldn't have known had I not signed up for that first race. I cannot believe that a year later, I have run a few 5ks, a 10k and 2 half marathons! Not only that, some of my friends are coming to me asking me for assistance to get them into running. Wait?!?! How did that happen? When did people start looking up to me?!?!  So,  I took down my race bibs and put them in a safe place until I figure something else to do with them. Today is the day that I start with a clean slate. I will reflect on what races I want to participate in this year and what races I most likely won't repeat. I will be looking for longer races (Preferably greater than 5K) and will think of other ways to work in cross training. I just cannot believe how fast that year has come and how when I am having a talk with someone over running, when it comes to a 5K I say "It's only a 5K," not intending for it to come out that way. Ahh well. I will work on that.  Later today, I will be running steps with Bob. He got me hooked on running them, I blame him for my steps obsession.

Tonight, I will be beginning our Thanksgiving festivities.  It will start with taking my daughter to my old high school to see the Bonfire. My high school plays a football game every year (I believe this is the 160th meeting) and the night before is a huge bonfire.  The seniors in high school started collecting wood Mon and then slept out last night to protect the pile of wood. Tonight it will get set on fire. My daughter was too young last year to go, but this year we will be taking her. After that, my cousin and his wife will be hosting their annual Thanksgiving Eve party. My cousin's wife's family comes up for Thanksgiving from Tennessee and we celebrate their arrival. I cannot wait. In the meantime, my sister J will be traveling from Chicago to join us tomorrow for food, family, fun.
So while this blog is about my fitness and all that, this blogpost today was a little about everything else. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving eve, but an even better and blessed Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be Thankful this year, and I cannot wait to see where the new year will bring me.

The Fighter

I don't know how I found this song, but I did. The lyrics seem to be where I am right now, wanting to give them hell.  Who is them? I don't know. I think the them is more my doubt, because I am sure that I am not the talk of anyone out there. But, these lyrics....

Give 'em hell, turn their heads
Gonna live life 'til we're dead
Give me scars, give me pain
Then they'll say to me, say to me, say to me

There goes a fighter, there goes a fighter
Here comes a fighter
That's what they'll say to me, say to me, say to me
This one's a fighter

That's how I feel right now. I need to be a fighter, I need to keep on moving on.  

 

 

Today was an unintended rest day. I didn't sleep well on Wednesday night, and when it was time for my alarm to go off, my daughter climbed into my bed and wanted to snuggle. I am all about spending this type of quality time with her, and I wouldn't trade that in for anything in the world. I made up my mind to just work out then when I came home, but, quality time with my sweet babe is more important. So, today, I made it a rest day.  I enjoyed the moments of spending time with my daughter. I want her to know the sacrifices I have made to get healthier so I can be around for a long time for her.

As you know, I have been doing Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. If you have been following me on instagram and/or twitter you can see the occasional post workout photo. Like I stated there, I am not sure if the workouts are getting easier so I am working harder or if I am just not as in shape as I thought, either way, it is kicking my butt. Starting tomorrow, I will be going back to an ab routine that I did a while ago as a challenge with some of my friends. Even if I do them 3 days a week for starters, hopefully it will help my core. My core is insanely out of shape.

 

I am focusing so much on the fitness, but I think I need to start looking again at my nutrition. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to send them my way.

Speaking of nutrition, with Christmas being a little over a month a way, and my birthday less than a month away, here are an example of some of the books that I am hoping to incorporate into my life. I am not asking anyone to buy them for me, but just trying to shop around so that I can eat healthier, cleaner.

 

I hope you all have a happy Friday! I will be running with my BCR friends this weekend, I have another race scheduled for Thanksgiving, it will be sentimental to me because it was this exact race last year that was my first race EVER! And look at me now. I would have never thought I would be where I am today. How far I have come and how much further I am going to go. I thank each and everyone of you for supporting me and helping me every step of the way. Thank you!



And the beat goes on...

Happy Tuesday! Hope this week is treating you well! Today was  day 10 of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred (currently Level 2 Day 3) I can honestly say it isn't any easier than the last 2 days, but I am so totally sweating more! I currently have a love hate relationship with it. Last night, my bestie Liz asked me to go with her to the YMCA and take Zumba with her. I have taken Zumba like last May, so it was like I never took it before. Ok, first off, there is not Latina in me ANYWHERE!! I cannot shake my money maker, shake my shoulders, nothing. I was concentrating so much on getting the movements correct, that I might have stopped having fun. Well, until I looked over and saw my best friend standing there with me. And realized I couldn't ask for better company to spend it with. I do know that we will probably try Zumba again, and have a blast. I do know that the classes that my friend is exposing me too is great for cross training. Going to the Y at least once a week might just get me to join. Besides getting girl time while getting in shape, M will be able to take swimming lessons. Sounds like a win win to me. Even if there are no classes that interest me, M and I can still swim, something that I know I will love and cherish.
So here is to a happy Tuesday and more of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. She says that doing this should make us feel like we are going to die, yeah, I was probably close to it. I am going to keep on keeping on. 12 days until I will have my second half under my belt. Here's to you and exploring other fitness avenues to keep it fresh. I am thankful that my friend is exposing me to all of these classes, it definitely reaffirms my desire to become certified in personal training.
Have a great night.

Saturday...

First, I wanted to see if you noticed a new look here at PirateBooty Fitness?!? No, you didn't? Look again. My awesome "friend" (I hope to make it IRL) from Running In Pearls designed it for me? Doesn't it look swell?!? I LOVE IT! I think it captures the theme of what I wanted this website to look like. Anyway, let's do a recap so to speak of the last couple days, shall we?

As you know, I have been doing Jillian Michael's 30 day Shred. I missed Thursday because well 1- by body told me I needed to sleep in, and 2, I was on call and I got home super late and I was to tired, so I listened to my body again and just rested.  But, yesterday (was a day off) I actually got to run! I know, super crazy right. My friend AJ and I met up at Plainfield Township's rail to trail and we couldn't have asked for a better day. It was 80 (what the heck, isn't it fall?) so I wasn't really dressed the part of a summer runner, I was dressed the part of a fall runner. Anyway, I am in the process of breaking in new shoes (long story, a post for another day) and I thought I could handle a longish run. What do I mean by longish, well, I have exactly 15 days until my next half marathon, so slowly my mileage will be tapering down. I wanted to run at least 6, but breaking in new shoes is no joke. I did manage to do 5, so it wasn't really all bad, but, I think if I would have had already broken in shoes I would have gone further. Anyway, I was just glad to get out and run. This day care thing is starting to look up and up ;)  After runningYesterday, I did week 1 level 1 of the 30 day Shred, and I am glad I did! 
Today, the local running store Aardvark offered free yoga for runners. I went to last month's free session, so I was definitely not going to miss this one. What did I learn, 1- I wish yoga was cheaper, 2- maybe I really do need to look into yoga dvds, 3- I need to see if there are yoga studios closer to my house. Not that driving to Bethlehem is all that far (maybe 15 minutes) but that is not really convenient for me to commit to it.  The session was alright, it wasn't like classes I have been too before, but it was great at helping me stretch. I am not complaining, it was free and still totally worth it.  After yoga, I went home and did Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred Level 2. Let me first start off by saying that I don't EVER remember ever doing level 2. I must have done level 1 FOREVER!! This level is completely different. I was able to do level one in the comfort of my socks or bare feet without any problems. No, not for this level. I will HAVE to make sure I put on my gym shoes, this level is no joke. I am really looking forward to it though, I really know that while it is not running, it will still help in the long run. I wish I would have known about this level before, or well, I obviously knew about this level, I wish I had done it before. Or maybe not, it has only been one day, the jury is still out.
Hope you had a great Saturday!

*Note: Since this is now being posted on Sunday, I have since done the workout for another day. It did not get easier, in fact, I think it kicked my ass even harder. But, I am going to do this, and I will survive! This is just gearing me up for my next set of goals.

The boat launch

Saturday's run with BCR was at the boat launch by my house. I have run this path several times, but never the distance that I knew in my head I wanted to cover. I couldn't run early because my hubby worked last night, but I knew that if he got home on time (which he didn't) I would be able to get there by 7:30 to run with the group. I got there at 7:50 so I knew they would be out running already. But, I KNEW I had to get a run in. With my last run being only 7 miles AND a week ago, I knew I was in for a challenge. I have been having trouble lately mentally getting through long runs. For some reason, mile 6 has been my breaking point. It is usually at this distance that I tell myself, no I listen to the doubt in me head, telling me I cannot go any farther, and fall apart. It is usually a struggle then to finish the run, no matter what the plan was for distance.  So today, I ran by myself. Nothing new, I am used to it, but I completely shut off my brain. I knew I could do the mechanics of the run without thinking about it, I knew I had the endurance to do the run, I just couldn't think about it. But, as the run began I started to think about how far I wanted to go. How far I needed to go with the half marathon coming up. I thought about how I shouldn't be able to finish it because I haven't run in a week. And this was at mile 2! It was then, that I told myself to stop thinking of the total mileage and take it one mile at a time. I also listened to my body. It was sore and stiff and everything in between. But I listened to it. I slowed my pace and tried to keep it constant.At mile 3.5 I wanted to give up and turn around, but I knew that if I didn't try to get my 10 miles I would be very disappointed in myself and would be bummed the rest of the weekend. So, I just kept going. I enjoyed the scenery around me, and the looked at the leaves who in my opinion are turning fall colors way too early. I enjoyed the occasional runner/walker/fisher I encountered. I took it mile at a time. I didn't let myself get overwhelmed with the need to run 10 miles. Hell, at mile 5 at the turnaround I contemplated going a little further, to push myself just a little more.It felt good to run, and I wanted to run more. But I decided not too. I decided I needed to start back home so that I would make the run. Mile 6 still seemed to be a long mile. It seemed like it was the longest mile to be exact. I don't know what I ever did to the 6 mile mark to make it haunt me so bad, but it did. I just kept telling myself take it one more mile. Miles 7-8 flew by and then mile 9 seemed to take it's time. 9.5 to 10 seemed like it was really 2 miles long, but I just kept pushing.  I am so glad I talked myself into running the 10 miles, I really know I would have been disappointed with myself, and well quite frankly, I needed the miles so that I know I will be ok for the half coming up.


On Friday, I started waking up early and doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. It's just 20 minutes, but man, does it kick your behind. I don't remember it being so challenging, but maybe then I wasn't doing it right. I have done it 3 days so far (today included) and I plan on continuing it for the 30 days. According to Jillian, she says you can lose up to 20 pounds in 30 days. I will let you know. Maybe this video will reignite my metabolism and help me continue on my path to a healthier weight. I am also contemplating Insanity, which I believe is 60 days. I know that utilizing that program will help me continue my weight loss, but also improve my core which will help with running. Sounds like a win-win situation for me.

I don't do well with changes...

Right now, the hardest thing that I am having to deal with is not running. Yes, I love having the 1 day off a week, but it doesn't leave me time to run. I really wish that it was still light out longer. I have  no control over that. My husband works 11p-7a, so I can't really run in the morning. When I get home from work, he lays down to sleep and I put M to bed. Some nights are harder than others. Tonight, for example, it took almost 2 hours to get her to bed. But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. On Monday, she starts day care again. While, I don't necessarily want to see her go to daycare, she keeps asking about going to school.  I am hoping that my husband will use the time that she is in daycare and sleep. Before, he watched her while I worked and then my parents watched her in the afternoon so he could rest. Hopefully, now he will be able to sleep for the 8 hours she is in daycare and then be able to watch her once I put her down to bed so I can hit the treadmill. I know, I know, this is my fitness blog. I am getting to that. Starting tomorrow I am going to do what I can at home while the wee one sleeps. Starting tomorrow I am going to do Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I know it isn't much, but it is something. It is more than what I am doing during the week currently (which is nothing). I have noticed how my mood, my energy, my eating has been affected by the fact that I am not active. I didn't realize how much everything revolved around my physical activity. I mean I did, but at first I thought it was just because I was adjusting to 10 hour shifts. Now, I realize that it is because my weekly mileage went from 16 a week to 10, and now I also don't have my gym time. What a huge shock to my body!

I am really hoping that will all change starting Monday. M will still go to school even on my off days, which will open up some needed me time, and it won't compromise the us time. I need to get up earlier to get my fitness in, so starting tomorrow I am going to try do me. I am going to do the 20 minutes of Jillian Michael and follow it with my 20 minutes of Abs. It's the baby steps, but hopefully they will get me on the right track to feeling better, eating healthier and getting back on the right track to how I felt before I went to 10 hour shifts. Before I let my fitness go, without even trying.

The above all sound like excuses. Excuses are like assholes, everyone has one. But, the buck stops here. I am taking back my fitness. Hopefully!