Days 39 - 42 - February 20 - 23, 2011

Well...this adventure I am on got a lot busier than I expected. I know that I have let an entire week go by without posting anything, and it is time to get that fixed.

This week has been the hardest for me so far. Not only because of the regular home life stuff, and the HCC, but also emotionally I have been taking a beating. I'm not going to talk about everything we did each day, but just hit a few of the highlights. At this stage of the game the workouts are becoming routine, and predictable, and while I still feel pushed to and past my limits at times, it would be nice to try something new. Apparently the HCC head honchos thought so also, because the workout for Sunday was Yoga & Pilate's! 

I managed to leave the house late so I got to the class about 10 minutes after they started. I looked around to get a feel for what was going on, and I noticed that everyone had a mat, and their shoes off. The other three regulars from my team were there so I grabbed a mat and settled into what I understand was the child pose. Now, I have taken Yoga in the past, and that juvenile side of me usually takes over, but not this time. The instructor had a very soothing manner and voice, and no matter how awkward the pose was, she made you feel good about it. At one point we had our hands above our heads, with the fingers spread wide, and we were to feel the energy shooting out of the tips of our fingers....I know I felt something, but I don't know that I felt the energy shooting anywhere. We did a number of poses, and in all honesty, I felt quite emotional during the class. The last thing we did was the "corpse" pose. Laying flat on the ground relaxing then curling up into the infant pose, where we were to tell ourselves how very loved we were, and embrace ourselves. I did really well until one of my team guys started to giggle, and then he got a kick from his fiance', so neither one of us laughed. I didn't want to get kicked either. It was a good class, but I sure didn't feel like it was much of a workout.

Monday was regular. The workout was intense, using dumbbells and the circuit, but still I powered through and did an alright job. Because of the way I perspire - Ha...that's just too funny to me...The way I SWEAT, is usually a good indicator of the intensity of the workout, and I was pretty soggy by the time it was done. I thought about the treadmill, but decided to come home instead and I talked myself out of it pretty easy, so that should have been a clue as to what I was thinking. Ron said he wanted us to do the 5:30 water aerobics class on Tuesday to shake things up.

Tuesday - water aerobics.....It was the first time I had my swimming suit on in awhile. I noticed that it fit much better than it had in the summer, so hooray for me. I was on my way to the pool when I discovered that my cat (Stella) had chewed on the decorative strings and chewed one almost in half. I tried tying it in a bow, but it broke off. I didn't have anywhere to put it, so I stuffed it down the front of my suit, which was great until it floated away half way through the class. I tried to pretend like it wasn't the same pattern as my suit, and ignore it, but some of the others knew.....The class was great. My other girl team member and I were the only ones to show up, but we worked hard, and felt that it was a successful class. I did real good until I tried getting out of the pool. I had been bouncing on my toes in the pool and that caused a problem with my calf muscles. When I was halfway out of the water, my calves cramped up and made my toes curl around the rung of the ladder, like a birds feet. I couldn't go up or down, so I just hung on the ladder and tried to look natural, while unhooking my toes. I finally decided to just go for it, and I got off the ladder. Once My feet were flat on the concrete the calf cramps went away pretty quickly. Man, that was awful, not to mention painful!

Wednesday was confusing. Ron and the Mentor - trainer had a miscommunication as to who was training us that day, so after standing around the man gym for 20 minutes trainer-less, we ( two of my teammates and myself) decided to go to the cardio room and get on the machines. After ten minutes on the treadmill,  the mentor came and got us, and took us back to the man gym. We did the usual circuit, but this time we added bar work, and I did move up to the yellow bar that is 15lbs, from the blue 10 pounder I had been using. You really wouldn't think that 5lbs would make a difference, but it did, and I felt it. At the end of the 60 minutes, we did some "dog work" as Ron calls it, which is where you get on your hands and knees, raising and lowering your leg like you are peeing. We mule kicked, and side leg lifted and did circles (both to the front and reverse), until I finally called UNCLE because my butt cheeks were on fire! Ron just smiled his evil smile....

I felt like I worked out strong this week, and I know that I was doing pretty well on my food, but I still didn't feel as fatigued as I have in the past. I appreciated the change of pace, but I was concerned about the Thursday weigh in, and It was really bothering me. I guess time will tell.

Tomorrow is the weigh in. We are not having a regular meeting as we are, as a group, doing a workout with Ron - Joe D bands, and the Marines boot camp. I have been curious about the boot camp, so I am looking forward to it, and I have done the bands class so I feel confident doing that.

Anyway, until tomorrow.

Kelly