New Favorite Piece of Gym Equipment

So my work's gym has been completely remodeled and it's pretty gorgeous. They took some space from the IT offices and almost doubled its size and increased their collection of exercise machines. Josh and I started alternating nights, three times a week, to go to the gym after the kids go to bed, since that's the only time we're able to leave for long enough to get in a workout. After a full week of that practice, I have some fun experiences and realizations.

First, I don't hate exercising. Sure, I'm really, really, really bad at running and my posture is all wrong and I can't hold my breath for anything, but I enjoy the feeling of strength and power I get when I totally crush an hour's worth of exercise. It's awesome. Second, I love the elliptical! I tried it out for the first time last Friday and I felt like I was flying through the workout. It was both easier and harder than the treadmill--easy, because it doesn't put all that strain on my ankles, which have been killing me after even just two minutes of light jogging; and hard, because it keeps my heart rate above 150 the entire time and I get a good sweat on. I also love that I get to close my eyes and bang my head to my music because my arms are holding onto the machine so I don't lose my balance and fall off of it. Third, I tend to be much more conscious of my eating habits and calorie intake when I work out during the week. Sure, I still eat more than I should and I binge on candy like three times a week, but I'm being much more careful about how much I eat, and how many times I grab a snack during the day. I'm recording my calorie intake on LoseIt!.com and trying to develop good habits that I can maintain. And fourth, I think I have finally found a routine that I can maintain with my young children and full-time job.

Josh is exercising on alternate days from me and that has made me much more motivated to continue my work. Today I ate too much and wasn't very organized with food, but I still worked out and in fact had a great time. I love the elliptical and I totally rocked it. I bought some new workout clothes that are a little too tight, which is great motivation to keep working until they fit comfortably. If I'm embarrassed to wear such tight pants, I can feel the (literal) pressure to make them fit. Hopefully I'll see a difference in about seven weeks from now when I run my 5K. And tomorrow is a great day to make up my bad eating from today, because I participate in no-sugar Tuesdays!

I'll be starting over repeatedly for the rest of my life, won't I?

I'm recommitting (again) to this weight loss thing. It's a constant battle and I'm constantly losing but I refuse to be satisfied with being overweight. I want to lose all of my baby weight from James by the time I have my 5K run in May. That gives me eight weeks to lose 16 pounds, which is totally doable. I ate a smart breakfast this morning and I'm planning to work out at my work gym tonight to start building up the endurance I'll need for running.

Josh's coworker invited him to do a fun run in August. It's a night run at the fairgrounds and you have to wear a white t-shirt because you'll be sprayed with glow-in-the-dark foam and run under black lights for three miles. It's a silly idea and the babysitting logistics are a nightmare (the kids will have to spend the night with their grandparents to make this feasible) but I was surprised Josh even wanted to do a 5K with me. He's not usually keen on participating. I think the pressure of having his coworkers also do it made him more inclined to accept the offer, so now we're paid and committed to running this thing.

Of course, you can't just run a race with beautiful, thin, fit coworkers. His two female coworkers run for fun all the time, so they're in great shape and Josh and I are overweight and out of shape. We have decided to take advantage of this race by starting a running regime together. We'll go for family walks after dinner to work up our muscles, and we'll alternates nights at my work gym so one of us can run on the treadmill and the other one can babysit the kids while they're sleeping. I get Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and I've decided I'll use my Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays to build up my core muscles with a workout video. That way I'll be alternating strength training with cardio, which is the smart way to exercise.

Hopefully I'll be in a good place physically for my May race, and I'll be able to run like a pro by our August run. It may just be a silly fun run, but Josh and I are treating it like a serious competition. Good luck to us!