Days 237-239: Single Sweats

Day 237:  On Monday afternoon Michael and I went to the Denver Athletic Club for a 90 minute sweat sesh.  Mike started with free weights and eventually retreated to the pool and I tackled the treadmill ended up with some weights.  For the first time in four years I did some squats with a barbel and weights.  Can you tell this type of working out has become foreign to me lately?   I think I even let out a loud grunt at one point.  It felt awesome to become acquainted with the weight room after many-a-years away.

Day 238:  Yesterday I went to Core Power Yoga for a sculpt class at 7:15 a.m. for an hour of toning, cardio and yoga.

Day 239:  Today marked the beginning of my bachelorette party weekend.  My first friend, Emma, came to town bright and early.  Unfortunately, with the tornado warnings and hail the size of my cat we have glued our butts to the couch for the rest of the night.  However, I did manage to get in an hour of lifting and 30 minutes of cardio at the DAC this morning.

Next up?  Four gal pals come in tomorrow, followed by eight more on Friday.  I am hoping that my friends will take over the blog writing for the weekend and fill you in on all the sweating that will be going on in Vail.  WHOO HOO!!!!!

Days 233-236: Calf Muscles: Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Day 233:  It’s becoming apparent to me that I need some help with time management.  Lately, I feel stressed all the time due to lack of hours in the day.  I am guessing that 99.9% of the world can relate to this.  I would love to hear any time management suggestions and how you fit in your workouts on those days.

On Thursday, the only workout that I felt I had time for was to ride my bike to and from work.  Round trip it takes me 40 minutes, which feels like a nice workout for a normal day, but since I have tried to ramp up my workouts lately, I felt as though that was a bit of a slackjob.

Day 234:  On Friday morning I woke up at 6 a.m. to fit in a TRX workout in my family room/dining room/kitchen.  If you’re wondering why there are so many slashes, then I invite you to come check out our 550 sq ft two bedroom apartment!  I hit walls, couches, tables and cabinets with every TRX workout I complete.  Have I mentioned how excited I am for our soon-to-be house to be built?

Day 235:  Yesterday I helped out at the Great West Insurance tent at the American Heart Association Walk and gave away some on the spot coaching tips. It was an awesome event filled with people so full of life.  At one point, I even got to coach Peyton Manning!  Well not really, but I did see him from ten feet away (see picture above).  Same thing, right?   After six hours there I went to work at lululemon for the next seven hours and used my bike as my form of transportation to help me squeeze in a workout on this packed day.  I also spent 30 minutes wandering downtown at 6 a.m. for a cup of Joe, can I add this in as a workout?  Seriously…

Day 235:   I just got back from the Denver Athletic Club and my body is so happy with the workout I was able to complete.  I have not run in quite some time, so I figured I should try out the ol’ IT band on the treadmill before heading outdoors.  The treadmills at this gym are actually touching mirrors.  Have you ever run while staring at yourself for the whole time?  I’m not sure I have.  It’s  an eye-opening experience.  Try it out, I bet you’ll be more impressed with your body than you think.

As I was pounding away at the hamster wheel I thought back to five years ago when a rather mean ex-boyfriend told me that my calves had “zero definition or muscle.”  Three days after that comment, I threw half of a Subway sandwich at him and asked him never to contact me again.  All rational people have their irrational moments- that might have been mine, but his meanness deserved a little chicken teriyaki to the head!

Fast forward five years, add in some experience with a good man, 236 consecutive days of working out and  a running mirror at the DAC and what do you get?  A Betsy with a sense of body pride that has never been felt before.   I saw muscles that I never knew existed in my legs and there was even a rather large muscle bulge protruding from my calf.   There have been many things that I have been proud of throughout this challenge, but seeing the results in my body has become my favorite part.  I was tempted to ask the man behind me to take a picture of me running on the mill, but I thought he might try to get me kicked out.  I did promise some readers that I would post some more body pictures along the way and I will get there…I still promise.

After my three-mile run I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical, followed by an hour of weight lifting and arm work.  Don’t you just love taking your time at the gym?  What a luxurious day to finish out a busy week.

Days 230-232: Tie-Dyed Peace

Day 230:  On Monday I went to Core Power for a sculpt class.  I have not been to one in a while, so I will refresh your memory- hot room, weights, yoga poses and lots of sweat.  At one point I started seeing spots, so I dropped to my knees to help me regain some control.  After a 30 second break, I joined the rest of my classmates to finish up.  I made the declaration on that day that I was going to work really hard to have some seriously toned bridal guns for the wedding in 80 days.  In fact, I might need to get a license for these guns…

Day 231:  Yesterday I went for a bike ride on the Cherry Creek Trail.  When I ride alone I like to take my hybrid bike because I think that bike is less prone to flats (aka me getting stranded because I still do not know how to change a flat tire after six years of biking).   I listened to Adele radio on Pandora, sang out loud every now again when I thought nobody was around and pedaled my hybrid-bike-heart out for 90 minutes.

Day 232:   In 10 days 15 of my nearest and dearest gal pals will be in town for my bachelorette party and I want to make sure that I am working my tail off up until that alcohol infused weekend.  So I decided to take full advantage of the two-week trial membership that the Denver Athletic Club gave all the Colfax half-marathon participants.  Today, I got the official tour of quite possibly the largest gym/club I have ever been to.   The membership director even had me get on this large machine (no clue what it was called) that shakes so fast that supposedly it helps rid you of fat.  Actually, I made that up.  I have no clue what it is meant to do besides threaten a possible orgasm in front of Denver’s most elite gym goers.

After the tour I headed to one of the three locker rooms and threw on my tie-dyed swimsuit and headed to the pool.  I swam a little shy of a mile and was quickly reminded of why I used to love to swim.  I lose myself completely within  seconds of putting on my goggles.  All the noises go away under the water and I am left just to think about my strokes.   Speed up, slow down, flip, repeat.  It feels poetic to be able to lose a sense everything else going on.  If you used to swim and you have not done it in a while, then I challenge you to find a local pool and lose yourself.  It’s amazing how good it feels to find some quiet chlorine induced peace.

Fuel of the week:  Greek yogurt with blackberries and strawberries.