Strong-Arm It

I have determined something and I wanted to share it with you all. Oh, and brace yourself for some bicep pictures.

I've decided to try to accomplish something within a certain period of time. Some people might call that a "goal," but we all know how I feel about goals. Most people would also figure out a way to measure that "goal" to determine success. But since I'm not setting a goal, I will not measure anything, at least not in the technical sense.

See, for normal people, goals should be SMART. That's S-M-A-R-T:

Kindly borrowed from smart-goal-setting-tips.com.

 This thing I've determined won't be entirely specific. I'm not going to measure it, per se. It's attainable, for sure, or I wouldn't even try (because I'm just that driven). It's realistic (see last point). And it's going to happen before a specific date--May 12, 2012, to be exact.

If I did set goals, this one would probably sound something like this:

Decrease the circumference of my biceps by x inches by May 12, 2012.

But NO! No goals! No measuring! Otherwise it will not happen. I balk at goals--we know this.

So, what I've determined is this:

There is absolutely no reason why I shouldn't be able to make these lifeboat-sized arms of mine smaller before I have to don my beautiful navy blue bridesmaid dress for my friend Sarah's wedding this May. No reason at all. 

Let's look at some pictures of my bulging (for all the wrong reasons) biceps before moving on, shall we? (Ooh, something shiny...)

Flappy! This was taken after the first 5 days of my first boot camp.

Those wings could "lift us up where we belong."

 

Dude, that girl is pissed. Probably because her arms are so huge. Those ripples are not muscles, folks. And the answer to your question is, "Passionately singing along to 'Hold On' by Wilson Phillips at my friend Anne's wedding."

Same pic from another angle! Sarah, the bride in the upcoming wedding, observes my arms in horror from behind. "Those things are going to hurt someone!"

My arm has it's own boob.

One of these things is not like the other. Guess which arm is mine. And the answer to your question is, "Yes, I was wearing a zebra-print tank at a New Kids on the Block Concert."

And that, folks, is why I've determined what I've determined.

So, why should this work? Why should this non-goal be a non-failure? Because it's easy, that's why.

I have, in my possession, two sets of hand weights, a gym membership until the end of March (with rowing machine!), a newly purchased set of wrist weights and an also newly purchased set of resistance bands. Most arm-strengthening workouts do not require sweating, so the excuse of "I don't feel like getting sweaty today/tonight" is out the window. So is the "I don't have time" excuse. I don't need a full-blown workout to work my arms a little. Hell, I'd be content to do 3 sets of 10-15 for maybe 2 arm exercises a day. I also plan to play my Just Dance Wii game with my new wrist weights attached.

And another reason this is going to work: because I have low expectations. I don't expect Jillian Michaels arms. I just want mine to be smaller. To look better (as determined by me) in my sleeve-free dress.

My dress. Dessy.com

Three cheers for terrible Photoshopping (not by me, thank you)!

So, that's what I've got for you. A non-commitment to a non-goal. I will also give you promise to get pictures of my arms in the dress come May. Just pester me in case I forget.

What's Next?

I ran less than two miles for today's workout. I enjoyed about a quarter-mile of it, tolerated a mile of it, and spent the other quarter-mile-ish trying to figure out how I was going to get myself to keep up with running--or rather, if I was going to keep up with running.

If you've been around me or talked to me at all lately, you know this has been going on in my head for a while. In fact, I know exactly when it started. May 1, somewhere between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m.

I burned out. I reached the point of "this is where I was going, I'm here, now what?"

I've finished the Couch to 5K (C25K) program, I've finished a year's worth of 5K events, I've finished a 10K, and I've finished a half-marathon (and never want to do one again). I finished one boot camp a year ago, took an early exit from the most recent boot camp. 

I've lost two toenails, injured both knees, and exacerbated my back problems. I've lost 40-ish pounds (10-ish through step aerobics during the year before I started running, the other 30 immediately following last year's boot camp, and nothing since).

I've nudged a handful of people start running, fall in love with running, pretend to hate running (but do it anyway and secretly enjoy it).

I've told good stories, funny stories, gross stories (hello runners' trots, toenails and calluses). I've read books and magazines and Internet articles.

I've stopped enjoying it. I can count the number of runs in the last two months that I've thoroughly enjoyed on one hand. I can no longer tell if I'm itching to go for a run or if my guilty conscience is making me think I'm itching to run.

I don't want to go backwards, but I'm not so sure I want to run anymore. I certainly can't think of any other form of exercise that I want to do, that would give me the same sense of accomplishment that running did (or is as cheap as running is). 


I don't feel like I accomplish anything with my running anymore.

I don't have anything to cross off. I used to cross off days and weeks of C25K. Then I crossed off races. Then I crossed off days until the Pig.

I'm also kind of removed from running buddies lately. Not that I need people to run with, but talking about it helps. Schedules, a job change, etc. have gotten in the way of me getting to talk about it as much as I used to. Remember this post? Talking about it ... what a novel idea. Wish I had thought of that sooner.  =)

Anyway, I'm tired. What should I do? What else can I try?

Whew, huge downer post, folks. Sorry about that. This has been brewing for a while. If you've come through something similar, I'd love to hear about it. Or if you have any ideas, please speak up.

Whoa! A Fernside Fundraising Update

Consider me blown away.

I've just completed my second bake sale at work to benefit Fernside in my Flying Pig (Half) Marathon fundraising efforts and I'm happy to report ...

I broke another goal!

My generous family and coworkers have helped me to raise $506 for Fernside!

Amazing!

The best part is there's still time to donate if you'd like to. I'll be collecting until Friday, April 29. I can take cash and checks (made out to Fernside). Please let me know if you would like to contribute and I'll let you know where to mail or drop off the money.

Links:
Fernside: A Center for Grieving Children
Flying Pig Marathon
My original blog post about Fernside Fundraising

*******************

Hey folks, sorry for the delay in posting an update about the Rat Race 10K. I'll post tomorrow. (I'd give you a spoiler, but, well, that'd spoil it!)

30 Miles in 30 Days: COMPLETE!

Yay! I did it! After running 4 miles with Caitlin this morning on the Five Mile Trail, I completed 30 miles within 30 days, the Spring Into Fitness Run Challenge through MapMyRun.com.

Good run today. Took us 58 minutes and includes some grueling hills, but we did great. Caitlin finished stronger than I did and kicked the final hill's butt, big time. Good job, Caitlin!

Now, on to training for the 10K and half Pig. No biggie ...

30 In 30 Update: Why I Still Hate Setting Goals

Blah. Yuck. Patooey.

What a terrible run. I just knocked out another 3 miles, bringing me to 26 miles and another 4 days to get 4 more miles in to complete the MapMyRun.com Spring Into Fitness 30 miles in 30 days challenge. (Whew! Mouthful!) I should be knocking out the last 4 on a weekend run, hopefully on Saturday so I have a bit of a buffer in case something goes wrong.

Anyway, today's run was awful, and I have one theory about why part of it sucked so bad. My legs felt like solid, painful rocks from the knees down, fronts and backs and sides. And then my hips ached, probably from compensating for my shins/calves. After the past few runs I've been stretching my legs a little bit, and that probably doesn't seem so odd until you consider that I stopped stretching before and after running back in the summer after reading Jeff Galloway's take on the issue. (Basically, man has been running since there was man. It's a natural motion that our bodies are built to do, so there's no need to stretch. He thinks this applies only to walking and running, not to other physical activity.) I've discovered over the last year that this is a hotly debated issue in the running world and I think I've finally decided where I fall on the spectrum. After the way my legs have been feeling on runs following runs where I stretched afterward (follow that?), I'm not stretching any-friggin-more.

You can't make me.

But I do still want to know what you think about it. Runners, do you stretch? Have you always? Have you tried both stretching and not stretching? I want to hear from those of you who might not yet consider yourselves runners, too.

Lastly, my fundraising plug!

Do you want to run the Cincinnati Flying Pig (Half) Marathon with me on May 1? No?

Do you wish you could? No?

Well, do you want to show your support for a really worthy cause as I trudge 13.1 miles through downtown Cincinnati and Mt. Adams? Have you been looking for a way to give back? Do you have an extra $1, $5, $12, $27, $50 or $3,000 sitting around and you want a place to put it? Now's your chance! Check out this post about my Fernside fundraising efforts and let me know if you'd like to contribute. I'll be collecting pledges until Friday, April 29.

Thank you for your time!

Close To Meeting A Goal? Me?

At the risk of cursing myself for posting this, I'm going to do it anyway.

I think I just might reach my "30 miles in 30 days challenge" goal.

(ducks and covers to dodge downpour of goal-setting curses)

You know I don't do goals. Hate 'em. Hate 'em personally and hate 'em professionally. Hate 'em all around. But apparently the world is against me and wants me to set goals for myself. Personally, professionally, running-ly.

I think I took this particular goal on because it's worded as a challenge. "Hey, you ... big girl. Bet you can't run 30 miles in 30 days. You already failed at it once so there's no way you can do it now." Yes, I respond a bit differently to that kind of wording. A challenge.

Anyway, in this Spring challenge through MapMyRun.com, I only have 10 miles left to run in 8 days. I'll get 6 in this week, ideally (3 miles Tuesday, 3 miles Thursday). That leaves me in perfect position to do Five Mile Trail this weekend (4 miles) and knock that "challenge" out before the 8 days are up. (Caitlin, are you writing this down?)

Oooohhhhh boy! That looks like a schedule and a goal to me. Those two combined are sure to bring on a big plate of failure and disappointment. =(

So anyway, good run today. It's Cincinnati at the end of March, so naturally it snowed over night (after 70-degree temps earlier this week). Fortunately the ground was clear by lunch time and I knew Otto Armleder Park would be cleared. I bundled up but wished I didn't have so much on by halfway through my first lap (1 mile in). I did two laps (I think that's a first for me at that park), which is a total of 3.8 miles in 53 minutes. A little poky, but I don't care. At this point I'm just honing my 5:1 intervals in preparation for the long runs I have coming up.

Hopefully next time I post I'll have good news about this here goal/challenge I'm so close to accomplishing. Fingers crossed!

**********

Reminder: I'm accepting donations as a part of Team Fernside for the Flying Pig Marathon. Check out my blog entry about my fundraising efforts.

Current pledges: $130
Goal: $300

(and you know how much I hate to set goals)

Happy Anniversary To Me!

Today, March 1, marks the one-year anniversary of the day I started running.

[pause for applause]

Well, that could be a lie. Please don't throw anything at me. I actually don't know the exact date I started running. What I do know is that my gym membership expired at the end of February last year and I started running because of that expired gym membership. I know that there wasn't much time between the two either. So, for the sake of having a date, I will, from this point forward, recognize March 1 as my running anniversary date.

Happy anniversary to me!

Did I ever think I'd be here? Nope.

Am I still a little shocked that I am here? Yep.

Am I happy I did it? You betchya!

So, to commemorate this occasion, I'm going to spend the next few blog entries comparing and contrasting where I am now versus where I was a year ago. I thought that reviewing the year would be a little redundant, but I think this little exercise could be fun.

I'll start with something I did today and actually just started doing about two weeks ago ...

One year ago, I was petrified of what I looked like and sounded like after a run. I'd finish my workouts (Week 1 of Couch to 5k: run 30 seconds, walk 90 seconds, repeat), and would be tomato red and dripping sweat from every skin cell, hair follicle, and thread of my clothing. My mother was the only person fortunate enough to get to see me like that.

Also, many of you have been with me from the beginning and know about my over-awareness of my heavy breathing. The freight train. A year ago, that heavy breathing would last a lot longer than it does now and would be a lot more intense. There was a lot more choking involved too. Yum! And like now, I suffered from post-run sneezes (hasn't changed a bit, though it goes away in during the hot months).

After runs a year ago, I was lucky to make it home to the couch. I didn't dream of being any more active than putting on my pajamas and refilling my bottle of water before heading to bed.

Finally, I didn't want to be seen in my drenched workout clothes, a dilapidated collection of yoga-pants-turned-pajama-pants-turned-running-gear and old t-shirts. Sweaty? Yes. But they also showed some very unattractive jiggly parts on my 30-pounds-heavier-than-today frame.

Today, after my 2.2-mile run/walk (10 minutes run, 1 minute walk, repeat 2.5 times because I cut it short), I went to Michael's in search of a bottle of the seemingly non-existent strawberry extract that Ms. Paula Deen calls for in her strawberry cake recipe, which I plan on making quite soon. Thanks Paula. (If anyone spots this stuff anywhere, please let me know ASAP

Anyway, I got to Michael's (a short drive from Juilfs), wiped my forehead on my sleeve, put my zip-up hoodie on, and checked for major hair fly-aways in my rear-view mirror before heading on in. No sweat.

Well, yes sweat, but not much and I know how to "hide" it now. Practice makes perfect.

Activity after running? Sure, why not? Actually, these days I feel rip-roarin' and ready to go after running. Not right after running, but give me a 5-minute cool down walk and my legs are good as new. (That probably speaks to the fact that I need to up intensity and/or distance of my runs a bit, but you get the point.) In fact, I'll often have more energy than before I started.

So yes, quite a contrast between today and a year ago.

This is fun! Check back over the next few posts and I'll see what else I can dig up. I'll try to post more frequently for the next few entries, I promise.

PS, I purchased tickets for something today that requires me to meet a maximum weight that I'm currently 25 pounds above. And I have to do it before September.

This is not a goal. This is a financial commitment (a whopping $35) that I have to adhere to. No big deal.

NOT A GOAL. Do you hear me?

[stops shaking finger at no one, calmly sits back down on couch]

Ahem. Sorry about that.

Anyway, that is why I've reserved Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred on Netflix. I should have it by later this week so I can figure out if it's worth the purchase.

Not a goal.

Challenge: 30 Miles In 30 Days

Well, I just signed up for something a little crazy. And it's goal-oriented, too, which is SO not me. The good thing is there isn't anything to lose. If I fail, it's no big deal.

That being said, I'd like to see if I can pull it off. Hopefully it doesn't make me angry or depressed, which happens to me if I start to fail at something. Thus the aversion to goals.

Anyway, here it is:

Banner from MapMyRun.com

I got an email this morning from MapMyRun.com, inviting me to join in the 30 in 30 Challenge. I did some quick math and figured that 30 miles in 30 days is not a whole lot more than I do now. I could totally pull that off, right?

Right.

If the weather cooperates. Unlikely.

If the weather cooperates and I can do another lap on my weeknight parking lot runs and maybe another lap or two on any daytime weekend runs, then yeah, I can do it. But if it snows or gets really cold (like it is right now), I could be out of luck.

Yes, I have a treadmill to fall back onto if the weather gets bad, but there's no way I can go longer on that thing. I hate it so much it's hard for me to stay on it for 20 or 30 minutes, let alone 40 or 50. Gah! Hate it! Patooey!

Oh. Sorry. Focus ...

But then I got to thinking of the positives of the challenge. It could really be a chance to get some longer distances in. I could be ready to fully run a 5K when the first one comes around in March. I could be putting myself in a good position to train for the half-Pig. I could lose some weight. I could get through January a lot faster (only to face friggin' February after that).

Interesting ...

So, despite all those ifs, I went ahead and signed up anyway. I wanted to post about it 1) so you all could check in on me and 2) in case any of you would be interested in the challenge. They have running, walking, cycling, and exercising challenges -- take your pick. Check out the MapMyRun.com NYE Challenges here! If you complete the challenges, you get entered to win stuff. Plus, if you haven't already made use of that website, you need to get on it. It's pretty great, as is its App on the iPhone (and maybe other devices).

So, wish me luck! And please do some anti-snow-and-ice dances/rituals/praying/bargaining. Let's work together to keep winter away, folks!

The C25K Initiative: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

I can honestly say, with no exaggeration, that I never thought yesterday would have happened, especially more than 10 months ago when I started the Couch to 5K program.

Well folks, this is a picture of what victory looks like:

Well, pretend I remembered to take a screen shot of the app when I actually finished the program, instead of the next day. Elapsed would say 40:00 and Remaining would say 0:00. It happened, I promise. See the green check mark on 9.3?

On Monday, December 6, 2010 at approximately 6:45 p.m., I, Beckey, the author of More To Love Running, ran for 30 minutes straight and completed the Couch to 5K program.

Omigosh! Ahhhh!

Okay, okay, wait a minute. Not only did I finish the program, but I finished the program on a treadmill. On a treadmill running next to some dude I didn't know. Running next to some dude I didn't know who didn't have headphones on and therefore could hear me huffing and puffing and hear my thundering steps.

We're talking HUGE victories here, people!

The most amusing part to me is that I didn't even get a chance to celebrate yesterday because I was busy being a Beckey Crocker failure. I came back from the workout room to the task of making hoards of red velvet cupcakes for my work's holiday bake-off. Let me tell you now that I HATE baking on weekdays. There's a reason: if something goes wrong, there's NO recovery time.

There is, however, an extremely helpful mother. I didn't have sugar or cupcake papers. I was soaking wet with sweat, still in my running clothes, and exhausted. My loving mother rescued me, though, and delivered the sugar and papers. Whew. Thanks mom!

So, this day after my baking almost-catastrophe, and after the cupcakes are iced, I'm officially giving myself time to get excited about my accomplishment.

I FINISHED! WHEEEE!

Er ... now what?

Pink Ribbon Jitters

Tomorrow is the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and I'm oddly nervous.

Lovingly borrowed from the RFC website.

I think I'm mostly intimidated by the huge number of participants. Plus I'm getting to the point that I expect something of myself in these runs. My goals have expanded beyond "I just want to finish on my feet." Now that I've officially been disappointed in my 5K results, I'm worried about failure. (The Anderson Run to Remember ... I forgot to share the results but they weren't awesome. I didn't go above a 14 minute per mile pace, but I didn't improve either.) Stupid expectations.

Despite my fear of not meeting my own expectations and not improving, I'm going to set a goal. My BigK 5K pace was about 13:40. I'd love to hit 13 minutes per mile or less. It's kind of a big jump, especially considering my recent runs haven't been great. (I'm officially blaming the new shoes.)

So, think of me tomorrow morning. Send me happy leg muscle thoughts. Hopefully it will be as nice out as they're forecasting. And yay for long downhill finish. Also, if you'd like to donate, here's the link again. My sole donor is is probably getting a little lonely on the scrolling honor roll. =)

My donation link: http://rfccin.convio.net/goto/moretoloverunning

I'll check in after the run!

I Don't Generally Set Goals

It's true. I don't. Setting goals leaves room for failure and I don't really like to fail. Who does? Plus I've never seen myself as a goal-oriented person. Honestly, I don't know the effect goal-setting has on me.

But, I've decided to set a goal.

I may have been inspired by the "literature" from Brian, the head honcho of Adventure Boot Camp. (BC = Boot camp from now on)

Backstory break:
I found out yesterday that I wasn't on record with the BC people, even though I registered and emailed back and forth numerous times with someone in the office. I did some heavy-hitting following up today and requested all the crap I've been missing. Evidently, there's all kinds of support included with the BC package -- daily emails, a webcast, and ... well ... other stuff. So, I got three days worth of stuff today, including news that I was supposed to buy three sets of dumbbells (5, 8 and 12 pounds). Uh, $10 per dumbbell at Target ... SOOOO not buying all three sets. So I bought the set of 8 and I'll use my set of 4 and I'll be fine. The heaviest stuff is likely to be legs anyway and I'm heavy enough to add that extra weight on myself, so yeah.

We now return to regular programming ...

The emails I got today talked a lot about setting a few goals for yourself for the 4 weeks of BC. They suggested healthy eating habits, minor weight loss, strength goals, better running times, etc. I have to say, Boot Camp Brian (now BC Brian) is pretty motivational. Mind you, I'm quite cynical and usually don't take much away from cheesy, inspirational crap. But this stuff is good! He talks to the science behind exercise and nutrition. I like that! That's smart people talk, right there.

Okay, back to what I was saying. I've picked a goal. It's a mighty one. It's not one for BC, but one for the next 9 or 10 months.

Are you ready? (Because I'm not sure I am.)

I'm going to do the half Pig!

Aaaahhhh! 13.1 miles!!!!

I mean, I really think it's doable, people. That's a big deal for me to think that and to put it in writing, but I think I can do it. No, I don't expect to run the whole thing. Hopefully I'll run more than half of it, but mostly I just want to do it. Surely it's not all that bad to be moving in some way, shape, or form (running, walking, crawling, or wobbling) for 13.1 miles.

Right?

Oh boy.

Okay, now that that's in writing, I can give you a BC update.

Day 3 went pretty well for the most part. I was super sore when I woke up, and throughout the day, but once I got moving the discomfort diminished a bit. The workout felt easier today, but I really think that's just because the workout was easier in general, and because anything would feel easier than the first day.

One obstacle I ran into today (and yesterday and Monday, in fact) involves planks and push ups (images below for those who need visual aids). I can't do either. And for good reasons.

1. My arms don't hold up that much weight very well. In case you didn't catch it, I weigh more than the average bear. That's a lot of weight to hold up! I want to know what bench press weight is equivalent to lifting my mass off the ground. Anyone? Physics people?
2. My wrists hate me. Blame it on high school color guard or throwing shot put and discus or using a keyboard daily, my wrists don't like how fat I am any more than I do.
3. My knees hate me. There's something about the proper plank position that just puts a huge kink in my knees. Now, I grew up with Osgood-Schlatter disease, so I'm very familiar with that kind of kneee pain. This is not that. This is a sharp ickyness. I'm thinking it has to do with the angle of the pressure.

So, why am I struggling with this? There are lots of things I can't do. My problem is that everyone seems to be able to do them. I think I've reverted to gym class horrors again or something. It kills me to not even be able to hold myself in the girly-plank position (from the knees). What the heck? Plus, there are more BC exercises that start with the plank. That means I can't do those either. BOO!

Fortunately, Linda, the trainer (now BC Linda), is very good at giving alternatives to difficult positions/exercises. It's what BC is all about, apparently. Everyone should be able to participate, regardless of fitness level.

Okay, so I have a plan. I'm going to try push ups from the bench or the wall and work my way up to girl push ups. I'm going to work on stregthening my arms, especially chest press-ish things. Good plan. Go me.

That, folks, is enough blab. I'll check back in with you all in two or three days, unless something phenomenal happens. Oh, I'm going to try to run tomorrow evening, mostly because I miss it (CRAAAAA-ZY!)

Here are the pictures I promised (all stolen from various Internet sources; consider this their citation):

Plank position (essentially a push up in the "up" position)

A girly, or modified push up. Though this chick's butt is in the air, and that's not right.A push up against the wall. I think that sums it up.

The Eve Of The Apocalypse ... Or Boot Camp

Ah geesh! Here we are. It's the day before ...

dun dun DUUNNNN ...

The first day of boot camp!

Tomorrow I begin my month-long (20 days, to be exact) torture session, otherwise known as Cincinnati Adventure Boot Camp for Women. I report at 5:30 tomorrow morning. Pretty sure it's going to be raining. Awesome. Whine, whine, whine.

Okay, let me tell you the truth. I really was trying to avoid it, but I figure this blog is supposed to be helping with accountability, and by sharing this, I'm hoping you can help me with this.

[deep breath]

I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful to see what happens, to see if my body is really impacted by what I'm about to do. Will I actually get smaller?

Since the beginning of March this year, I've been focusing solely on cardio -- running to be exact. I haven't done any weight or strength training. I haven't exactly dieted either. I've paid very close attention to what I eat, and even spent a good deal of time as a vegetarian. The combination of my non-diet and my new exercise habits hasn't exactly produced the results I expected.

Actually, I've been working out regularly since March 2009 (half of the time included weights, etc.) and that hasn't yielded visible results in my eyes either. (Okay, my body has changed shape a little here and there, but no numbers have dropped off.) I'm interested to see how a closely-monitored, trainer-led daily workout will impact my physical well-being. And I'm hopeful.

Hope is dangerous. It leads to disappointment. This is why I don't set goals and I often don't share my hopefulness. Sharing leads to joint disappointment ... and sympathy. I don't like those things.

This next month promises to be a difficult one for me. I don't really like not having control over my schedule. Being essentially forced into an every-day workout is rather off-putting. What if I don't feel good one day? Or three days? With running, I make my own schedule and decide whether or not I feel up for a run. Most of the time with running, though, I've impressed myself by ignoring those days when I don't feel so good and just press through the workout anyway. So maybe I've built up some kind of mental endurance over icky days. Maybe. This month will surely test that.

One good thing about this month, though, is freed up evenings. I'm not going to completely avoid an evening run, but I certainly won't feel pressured to get one in over the next month of scorching hot evenings. I'll be active for a whole hour each morning, so an evening run will just be an added bonus. I'm not going to strain myself in the evenings either; if I decide to run, it may just be a Week 2 workout instead of Week 3. Or I'll just jog at my own pace.

Blah. I don't want to think about it. I can't believe it's tomorrow already. I can't believe I have to get up at 5 a.m. and drive 5-ish miles in the pre-dawn to workout. THEN I have to try to cool down enough to stop sweating so I can look like a normal human being at work all day. (This will be the biggest challenge of all, I think.)

On that sweaty note, I bid you all goodnight. Please check back soon for a boot camp update. I predict I'll feel good tomorrow evening, but will feel like Hell Tuesday evening. We shall see!