Physically Fit

I don't look particularly physically fit.  If I saw me walking down the street I wouldn't think, "Oh, she's obsessed with fitness and nutrition."  But I am obsessed.  I absolutely LOVE working out.  Sure, there are some days that I feel less than thrilled about the prospect of beginning a workout, but once I finish, I sure am glad that I started.  And when I go a few days without moving my body or eating poorly, I can tell in my mood.  I feel upset and agitated easily.  It really is an addiction and I go through with drawls after just a few days.

I have been working out consistently for the last 5 years.  I've gone through periods where I don't work out for a few weeks, but I've been pretty consistent about it since 2007.  I really got into it about a year and a half ago when I began going to circuit and I met fantastic people.  Then I learned about weight lifting and proper form and how you get more bang for your buck than just running constantly.  The act of lifting things up and setting them back down feels good and it makes me feel powerful.  I'm not really good at doing much, but I found that when I am in the gym or outside on a run, I have a self confidence that I lack everywhere else.

A year ago, when the 49ers were in the running for the Super Bowl, our trainer had us do what she called the "49er Workout."  She set up several different circuits that we had to complete 49 reps at each one.  She gave us 30 minutes to complete this.  It is almost like a Crossfit workout in a way, that you are competing with time and with yourself.  I was so disappointed last year because I was unable to complete all of the reps at all of the stations.

Tonight, she did it again, since they are playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday.  Tonight, I not only completed the workout, I went and did 25 more reps of more than half of the circuits.  Now, maybe the circuits were different, and maybe I used less weight, but I still completed it with 7 minutes left to go.  I was so proud of myself.  All of this after I had run 3.1 miles.  I am only ever competitive with myself, so to beat my own butt by so much felt really, really good.  I've been in a very good mood ever since.  I'm not the most physically fit person in the world.  I'm not even close.  There are so many things I'd probably be terrible at (biking is one of them), but the fact that I have come so far in just a year makes me feel like I might actually be getting somewhere with my fitness goals.

My run before the class.

I may not look super fit, but knowing that my body can keep me going for several miles or that I can complete a daunting workout with time to spare makes me feel fit.  That might be more important to me than looking fit, although, that would be nice.

Other than that accomplishment, I spent some of the afternoon working on my application.  Today, I applied to the university and got stuff organized to get my fingerprints taken.  I still need to finish my letter of intent, but that is incredibly close to being done.  I have been going over and over in my head about how to finish it and I think I've finally decided what to say.  Just have to type it.  I feel like my whole life is revolving around this application and worrying about what's next.  It's nice at the very end of the day to finally sit down and enjoy a cup of tea and watch stupid TV.  I totally screwed up my knitting last night and I am not experienced enough to know how to fix it.  I hope it is fixable.  I know boy's mom can fix it without even thinking about it.

Tonight's dinner was chicken burgers with guacamole and salad.  It was a great post-workout meal.

Because everyone likes a food picture.

Now it is time to relax and let my muscles heal.  I can already tell I won't be wanting to move much tomorrow.  I've got to take it easy the next two days so that I don't keel over on our 9 mile run.  I am totally nervous, but my body is really nice to me and will allow me to finish, even if I'm slow.