The Game Plan

So, the past few months have been weird in the exercise/running department.

Last October when I ran my first marathon, I was in pretty good shape. I knew I still needed to lose a little weight but for the most part I was pretty fit. Then I got injured and instead of a steady training plan for the Miami Marathon in January, I had to coast along on a bike with my group while I healed enough to run the half. Coasting is not good exercise, by the way.

Then about 7 weeks into my pregnancy I got so nauseous that I could barely move, let alone exercise. The impact of how sick I was really took me by surprise. I would try to workout or run a slow three miles maybe 2-3 times a week but for the most part I just tried to stay still since moving made me feel like I was riding the Gravitron.

The one good thing about being nauseated though is that you can't really eat. In the three months I was pregnant, I didn't gain a single pound.

But that all changed after we lost the baby. A mixture of depression and actually being able to enjoy eating again turned me into a freight train out of control. I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, not to mention drank whatever I wanted. Hey, I had taken such good care of myself for two years and look where it got me. I got injured, missed a marathon and lost a baby.

Never mind that I had a great first marathon in Columbus, when you are feeling sorry for yourself, those things don't matter.

Beer and wine became my friends. My fattening friends. And I felt like I deserved it. I deserved food and fun and a little time off. And let's face it, I said I wanted to work out to feel better but I was just feeling sad and couldn't find the energy to get out there.

So I ate, drank and made every excuse not to work out. Since I hadn't been on a steady schedule, this was pretty easy. Once you fall off the exercise bandwagon, it's pretty hard to hop back on.

Then one day I realized I hadn't weighed myself in about 3-4 months. I also realized that my jeans would barely button and all my clothes were getting tighter than they had in four years. So I forced myself on the scale, knowing full well what the outcome would be. And wouldn't you know it, I am the person who gains no weight while 13 weeks pregnant, then TEN pounds afterwards. TEN POUNDS PEOPLE!!! Come ON!

I needed to take action before it got too far out of control. I told Jeremy I needed a race to focus on. Something to make me work out while also taking my mind off of everything I seem to had lost in the past year. A full marathon seemed like the only answer. You can kind of get through a half-marathon with minimal training if you needed to. But if I paid money for a full marathon, that meant I HAD to run. It's not like you can just show up and wing 26.2 miles. Since we had already decided at that point to move to Philly, we decided the Philadelphia Marathon would be our best bet.

We started our training while we were still in Miami. It was hard to get back into again, especially since summer was back in full-force, but we did it. We ran a few times a week and got on a steady routine of lifting as well. We even managed to work our way back up to a 10 mile long run before we left.

So now we have been here for one month. When we first arrived we were so excited by all the fantastic running/biking paths and the low humidity that we jumped at every chance to work out. And with all the walking we do around town and living in a house with FOUR floors, we definitely are a bit more active than we were in Miami. I even lost 6 of the 10lbs I gained. But after we settled in a bit and J went back to work, I started finding excuses to be lazy again.

Not that I haven't been running, it's just been pretty inconsistent. (Two weeks ago I ran 26 miles, last week I ran 4, etc.) Basically, it's pretty simple. I have been feeling kind of down since I left all my friends and have been having more trouble than I thought finding a job since we got here. (Anyone need a graphic designer in Philly?) I was letting my disapointment get me lazy again. But I finally sucked it up and realized I have ALL the time in the world now and I need to take advantage of it. So if I do NOTHING else during the day, I am at least going to get in my workout in. So I made a game plan people. And I'm sticking to it.

And to prove what a total dork I am, I even made a workout chart (in color of course) to put on my fridge so I have no excuses.



I wont hem and haw and say "Maybe I will run today, maybe I will lift, maybe I will just eat this whole container of hummus and watch HGTV all day...." I'm a virgo, I need structure and lists to keep me going. So now it's, "Today is Tuesday and I have to do core, lift and ride the bike or the elliptical, it says so RIGHT HERE!" Then I can eat hummus and watch HGTV. But at least I will have gotten my workout in.

Nineteen days till the Philly Distance Run and 11 weeks, 5 days till the marathon. I think I can do this.