Speed Trials

This is a recap of days 22 to 26 of the 30-Day Shred.  It is also the last instalment of my Waist Management Program, since I’ve decided to stop here, and not go on for the whole 30 days.  Now, at first I was pretty bummed out to be “giving up” so close to the end, but today I turned a mental corner and realized what a success this experiment has been.

But first, the recap: I was pretty excited to get down with Level 3 on Day 22, but my left elbow gave out during the first exercise, and it was too painful to continue. I tried to finish the workout by doing variations of the rest of the exercises, but if you’ve done Level 3 of the Shred, you know that it’s all about putting your whole body weight on your arms, and I just couldn’t do it. I was very disappointed and iced my elbow, anxious to try again the next day.  But on Day 23, my arm was no better, so I did Level 2 of the Shred, making sure to avoid the push-up based exercises.  The next few days saw me doing a half-hearted attempt at Level 2, but my heart was no longer in it.  I made the decision yesterday morning to pack it in early, despite my strong desire to see it through to the end.  Sometimes you gotta know when to fold ‘em.  So here are my final results, after 26 days of the Shred:

Starting Measurements:

Waist (narrowest part): 33″
Low Waist (4″ below waist): 37.5″
Hips (4″ below low waist): 41.5″

Final Measurements:

Waist: 31”
Low Waist: 36”
Hips: 41”

Now, despite the elbow (which is still sore and will require medical attention – but more on that later), despite coming up short on my goal measurements, and despite quitting before the end, Waist Management was a resounding success for me, albeit in very unexpected ways:

1.   My legs are toned and so much stronger. Really, I may not have lost many inches in my thighs, but those babies are rock hard now, and defined. Yowza!!

2.   Core strength improves running – I feel like I can run harder, farther, and faster because I’ve got stronger muscles that allow me better running form, so there’s less strain on my knee joints.

3.   I love my body shape – Something happened somewhere along the way in this program where I started to really love my body.  It helps when the man you live with tells you that you look great all the time, but during this training I actually started to believe him.  I started enjoying looking in the mirror again, and even embraced my vanity in regards to my appearance.  I truly came to terms with the shape of my body and learned to be grateful for what I have, and what I’m able to do.

So, now what?  Well, training for my upcoming 10k continues, but weight training will resume as before (Mondays and Thursdays).  This training program was fine as a jump start for strength training, but I’m more than ready to settle into a regime that’s more sustainable over the long term.  I’m also taking care to stay diligent regarding soy in my diet, and also to eat with a little more purpose and reserve. 

Angelo and I spent the weekend at the cottage. The weather was glorious, and it was amazing sitting by the water and relaxing for two days straight.

But it meant that I skipped Saturday’s 6km run.  Instead, I lounged here all day Sunday:

When we got home Sunday evening, I was tired, sun-soaked and water-logged. I DID NOT feel like hitting the pavement. But I didn’t want to get so far behind on my training either. I told myself that all I had to do was “just show up”. As long as I went for the run, how fast or how strong didn’t really matter.

It got me thinking to my days in high school. As a child, I was a stellar student, always at the head of the class. But when I got to high school, that all changed, and I just stopped caring about my grades. I was going through some teen angst and teen rebellion at the time, and started skipping class regularly.  It was no surprise when report card time came around that I was flunking out of half my classes.

That’s when I noticed that I could get away with “just showing up” for class. I would tell myself that I didn’t have to write notes, or even pay attention, but just the act of “going to class” was enough for me to squeak out some average grades (good enough to get me into university).

Once I got to University, I not only “just showed up” to class, but started taking a strong interest in school again. My grades went UP to B+’s and A’s, and I ended up with a pretty solid GPA.  I learned that, like most things, I only got out of school what I put into it. But I had to start by “just showing up”. The same goes for training. I started Sunday’s run with the intention of “just showing up”, but ended up finding the strength in me to run hard and finished a strong 6.5k in 37:20 min.

Okay, I’m a liar. I love running at dawn, too!

I think it’s pretty safe to say that I just love running. In the last six months, I’ve grown into my “running legs” and found an appreciation for running that I’d never had before.  This goes beyond fitness and weight loss. This goes beyond speed goals or breaking new distances.

This is about me, the world, and moving through it.

Angelo and I had our first wedding-related argument* and it had to do, among other things, with the overall budget. All of a sudden, money got in the way of our enjoyment of the day (or the idea of the day, since it’s still a ways off) and made us momentarily question why we were doing it at all.  Our battle consisted of big-picture overall budget dilemmas (“This wedding costs more than a downpayment on a house!”) right down to battles over the smallest cost-saving details (“I could make the wedding cake myself and save us $60″).  The argument lasted a day and a half and swerved all over the wedding-budget map.

And why do I share this dark private moment in our relationship** with you all? Well, to try to help alleviate some of the stress that comes with creating a wedding budget.

Angelo and I were arguing because we hadn’t worked out our budget together yet.  And because we hadn’t nailed down a final bottom line, we were constantly freaking each other out over how much each individual expense was going to cost. So after thinking about this for the better part of the weekend, I have come up with some ground rules that we need to follow to keep our sanity and to keep stress levels low:

Rule #1: Allocate an amount for each major expense. There are countless (free) wedding budgets out there. Some are definitely better than others. But whatever you use, it’s imperative to have a general breakdown of what the major expenses will be. You can either start with the big number and allocate money according to percentages, or tackle each expense separately and add them up at the end. Number crunching and finessing will be necessary either way.

Rule #2: Once you’ve allocated a certain amount to an expense, BE PREPARED TO SPEND THAT MONEY. It’s one thing to say you’ve set aside $1200 for flowers, but quite another when you go to the florist and see a price list for each individual piece. Don’t let each price tag stress you out. That’s what Rule #1 is for – as long as you remain within your allocated amount, who cares what each individual flower costs.

Rule #3: The cost of each item in your wedding budget will be determined according to these three polarities:

Quality; Price; and Accessibility (availability, number of items, location, speed of production, environmental concerns, etc).

It is very rare to find items or services that meet our expectations in all three of these areas. Usually we can manage to have two of the three, but a certain compromise usually has to be made. For example, if you want something of high quality in a large volume locally-made and delivered on the day of the wedding, it will cost you more.  Alternately, if you want to save on expense, it usually means doing it yourself, or choosing materials of a lesser quality.  Knowing that you probably won’t get three out three is a great reality check for most couples, and finding out which of the three you’re prepared to compromise on is extremely useful and revelatory. (for example, I thought for sure that I would buy a lesser quality gown to save on cost, but after trying on different types of gowns [OMG, more on that in another post!], my expectations and level of comfort changed dramatically. Now I’m much more prepared to increase the budget to get a dress made of nicer fabrics.)

Rule #4: Don’t try to cheat the system! You may think to yourself that you CAN get all that you want without compromising, but this is risky business and, unless you are a professional in a specific area that relates to the wedding (like a florist, baker, or seamstress), or have a solid “in” to get you exactly what you want for less, be careful that you don’t delude yourself into thinking you can cheat the system. Taking on too many things yourself in order to save money often leads to excess stress and serious disappointment.

Rule #5: Rethink your priorities. At the end of the day, if the wedding budget is really stressing you out beyond what is reasonable, maybe it’s time to sit down with your fiancé and determine exactly WHY you’ve chosen to have a certain size or style of wedding.  Though this can be a terrifying thing to bring up, it may be necessary to revisit the whole thing. If stress is taking over your whole relationship, maybe it’s a sign to change the scope of the wedding or postpone by a year or two.

Because at the end of the day, both Angelo and I have to be comfortable with the idea of spending big cash money on throwing this party. And until we’re prepared to make that commitment to finance the day, with a budget that works for us both, then there’s no point in moving forward and jeopardizing the fun and excitement that this wedding will bring.  And because I love this guy way too much to want to spend my precious weekends fighting with him.

*It may or may not have been the first.
**With Angelo’s approval.

Phewfers! This 30-Day Shred is serious business! Days 17 to 21 have been really hard!

As you know, I skipped Day 16. When I first planned out this 6-week program, I told myself that I could skip just ONE day – the first day of my period. For me, that day just sucks so hard, and it’s the one time where I give myself a break.

Even though I had given myself that one get-out-of-jail-free day, it still made the next five days SO MUCH HARDER to do. All through days 17 to 20 I just COULDN’T get into it. But I still managed to get up early and crank it out.

Then on Day 21, the first day of the dreaded level 3, I got cold feet and didn’t do it in the morning before work like usual. The missed workout was weighing on my mind all day, and I knew that I couldn’t let myself blow it off completely. So I got home, pleaded with Angelo to do it with me (he refused – smart man) and finally I stopped stalling and put the DVD in.

Sometimes you need some bling to get through your workouts! I left my jewelry on because I needed a little glam…

My first impression of Level 3 was that it wasn’t SO bad. I do feel like I’m stronger now than I was at the start of the program, so the Level 3 exercises didn’t seem SO ludicrous. But getting into it, I realized how taxing they were (especially the abs exercises). I was making all kinds of noises and grunting sounds that I hadn’t made before in the other levels.

BUT, the biggest thing I noticed was that my energy level was UP the whole time.  That’s when it hit me – I’m an afternoon workout girl! I never even knew. I get up early most mornings, so I just assumed I was an early-riser workout person, but now that I’ve had back-to-back comparisons of morning and afternoon workouts, it’s crystal clear to me which one I prefer.

After all, in the afternoons, my energy is up because I’ve been eating well all day; my limbs and joints are nice and loose, because I’ve been active for a number of hours; and while my physical stamina is up, my mental acuity is down, so it makes it the perfect time to workout. I give my brain a rest and my body a boost!

So from here on in, I’m going to do the Shred in the afternoons after work. Hopefully that will be enough to motivate me through the last 10 days of the program.

Which do you prefer, morning, afternoon, or evening workouts? Or do you like to switch it up?