End of March Already???

They say time flies when you're having fun... well I'm not sure how much fun March has been, but it's almost over! Between working, writing an 8 page research paper on Genital Mutilation, taking care of the family (to include my mom with her total knee replacement!) and finally seeing my bestie Tanhena (and meeting her newest little one Marcus!) - March has swiftly breezed by...

I have to admit, I haven't been running or swimming as much as I had planned. Sometimes I feel like everyday moves like a turtle at work and a rabbit at night! I ran last night, well evening, the sun was still up and it was 82 degrees! I am such a nocturnal runner but I guess I might have to change my thinking if I want to log any kind of miles... I long for the days when I could get up at 5am and run 5 miles in under 45 minutes, and not give myself a second glance in the mirror when I go to leave in my running gear... it's really hard to run while sucking in your stomach, hence why running at 5am opposed to 6pm is key...lol Anyway, it might sound crazy but there have actually been times in the past week or so, that I just think about working out and feel like I am already in good shape, the reality sets in pretty quickly though. I have a lot of work to do, and unfortunately, not a lot of time... Something about infants, they just don't adjust to your schedule... funny huh? Gabriella is 4 months old now - can you believe it?



Parents house in July 2000. Joshua, Dad, Me & Mom



I thought I would be in this intense work out regimen and getting my beach body back but I guess not all things happen as we would like. I am doing my best to carve out a little bit of time here and there to work on me, I am the only one that can make it happen... I really want to get back to being fierce, I was secretly hoping to be the envy at the pool this summer...lol I guess it's like the night before a race, I have dreams of running faster than ever before, winning and all that, but reality moves a lot slower! I guess I can cut myself some slack, Rome wasn't built in a day & even people who have never had babies don't have washboard abs...lol I do have this picture of me with sweet abs, Joshua was probably about 4 or so... so I know it is possible! It might not be so easy, 15 years is a long time between kids, so getting back to a 24yr old stomach, may require even more drive and determination...I am up for it mentally, so now I just have to 'do work'...lol



I am hoping to take the ACSM Exam for Certified Personal Trainer by June, so I guess I need to get my rear in gear... Not sure how people might feel about having a chubby trainer... I'd rather just tell them about my chubby days to motivate them! I guess I just have to be happy with the progress I have made thus far, I am almost down to pre-pregnancy weight. I still have at least 15-20lbs before I get back to where I need to be to feel comfortable in my own skin, so here I go... baby steps... and SMART goals...lol

Motivation doesn't always come easy...

It was 3:30am this morning when I was contemplating the chances of me getting up at 5am to run. My little angel hasn't quite caught on to my subliminal messages about sleeping until 6am. Stephen & I have an arrangement which works out well when Gabriella cooperates. I get up at 430am to express, then leave a bottle on the counter in case she wakes up between 5-6am... that is my running time... Unfortunately, Gabriella has only been down with that schedule, one time this week - Monday. Oh and how I enjoyed my run on Monday, for the first time in a long time it felt like I was actually running - you know - both feet off the ground simultaneously! The runs previously have been more like a fast walk, or jog... Monday felt different, motivated and excited... I also managed to make it to the pool at lunch, I swear for a Monday - I was on my game! Now the truth about the rest of the week, not so good....


So in search of extrinsic motivation, I spent a good part of today scouring sites for races and events. I figure if I pay for a race, I will be motivated to do well, and perhaps there will be hope for me actually getting up at 430am if Gabriella has slept through the night... or the harder reality of getting up at 5am, when I just got back to sleep at 4am...

What I have done is created a Race and Events page, kind of like my attempt at accountability. The more people you tell about something you're going to do, the more likely you are to follow through... Having said that, the hopes of completing the triathlon in April is still up in the air - why? I haven't registered for it yet...lol

I guess the most important thing to remember is that we can't throw in the towel on everything just because we didn't excel today... one day at a time and for my fellow overachievers out there, remember to cut yourself some slack!