Leader of the Pack

I'm so competitive--a shock I know to my family and friends. I hate it when other cyclists pass me. It happened yesterday. I was taking it pretty easy because my broken leg was really hurting, when two real cyclists passed me like I was standing still. I immediately picked up my speed and tried to keep up with them. I was doing a pretty good job, and shortly thereafter, we went in different directions. Lucky thing, because I wouldn't have kept up for long. By the way, I could tell they were real cyclists because they were wearing real cyclist clothes. You know the clothes I mean.

Then today I was hanging out with Avery and he wanted to try Liz's trike so we went out for about 5 miles. I was feeling good because I regularly needed to slow down for him to keep up--yes, competing with a 14 year old boy (although he is at least 6'2"). The funny thing is that he was probably paying no attention to the speed and Liz's bike didn't fit him at all because his legs are so much longer. One of the disadvantages of the recumbent trikes is that they are fit to your leg length and can't be easily adjusted to fit someone else. You can easily shorten or lengthen the frame, but when you do so, you have to add links or take them away from the chain. Not something I'm willing to to when someone wants to try riding my trike.

On the way back, a cyclist passed me. He wasn't even a real cyclist--wrong clothes. I immediately sped up and then was torn--do I ride fast to try to keep up with this stranger, or be sociable and ride with Avery. Fortunately, my better self won out and I stayed with Avery.

Speaking of real cycling clothes, Ruth is encouraging us to get them. I've always admired them, but didn't feel like I had the physique to wear them. Ruth said that they are designed to make cycling comfortable and to not worry about my shape. I'm going to make getting real cycling clothes a reward for losing 25 pounds--I only have 11 pounds left to get there and I am losing weight quickly again because of all the cycling. I think Savanah was right when she told me to do cardio at a lower heart rate to burn fat-- that's what I'm doing now when I cycle, because my legs aren't strong enough yet to really get my heart moving.


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Feeling Good My Friend

Fortunately, whatever I had yesterday was gone today, so I could go to my 3 meetings. The day start out rainy and cool but in the afternoon the sun came out and the temperature rose to 84.

When I got home, I immediately changed clothes and went out for a cycle. I only had an hour so I did the 12 mile loop up through Conway. I'm still learning about how to handle the trike--how fast I can go down hills, take curves, etc. Also, when I'm going really fast and pedaling, the bike sways a bit back and forth. I'm not sure if there is something I can do to prevent that, or if it's something I just need to get used to.

In any event, it's a lot of fun. This experience really shows me that it's important to mix up what I do for exercise because of the fun and excitement of doing something new. Right now, I want to be outside as much as possible, but I want to try more classes at the Y in the fall.

Liz had more time than me today, so she did a 20 mile cycle. She's having as much fun as I am. I don't think I'm going to be able to do a long ride until the weekend after next, because I'm going to be out of town this weekend. Bummer!


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Sick Day

I woke up feeling crappy today. Not a good week for that--too many meetings and too much traveling. I stayed home under the theory that if I worked on my laptop in bed, that would somehow make me less likely to be sick for the rest of the week than if I went to work. At least I wasn't spreading the germs. And I did get a nice long nap.

Here was my favorite moment today. Liz came back from finding glass and other lost items in the river to turn into art. She was admiring a tiny headless, handless, footless doll she found, and said with complete conviction: "This is what I live for!" I laughed so hard I thought I'd pee. No one will ever accuse Liz of not being passionate. Here's a picture of Liz with her treasure:





I don't think I got sick from over-doing it. I felt strong cycling yesterday afternoon, even though my legs were tired. Oh well, it probably isn't worth second-guessing myself. I'm going to train hard and take it easy when I feel crappy.

Speaking of which, I'm going to bed.


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Tired

I had a great bike ride yesterday in the rain and drizzle. I headed off into the hills in Conway, and ended up doing 12 miles. I only averaged 6 minute miles, which is about the same speed I usually did rollerblading at the beginning of the season, but I know I'll pick up the pace as I train more.

Today is Easter and it was a fun day. We went to Bob and Diana's in the morning to color eggs and then came back to have an Easter egg hunt and dinner at our house with Ruth, Pat, and Bennet. Here's Bennett decorating herself with whipped cream:




Is it possible to be more adorable?

After Ruth, Pat, and Bennett went home, Liz and I went for a 14 mile bike ride, again into the Conway hills. I could feel how sore my legs were from riding the day before, but it felt great to be out again. It was the first long ride Liz and I have done together, and we're seriously considering doing the century ride that The Food Bank is organizing on September 17. It's a big challenge that will keep us motivated to train all spring and summer, and it's the same day as the North Shore Inline Marathon, so I won't feel as bad about not being there.

From what I can tell so far, the only body part that gets tired on a recumbent trike is the legs, which is fabulous, because I can push my legs to continue when they're really tired. For me, when I bike, it's harder to overcome the discomfort in my shoulders, wrists, neck, and butt during a long bike ride. It may be that we'll discover other things that start hurting as our distances increase. My whole system is tired, though, from 2 days of cycling, and I think I'll sleep like a baby tonight.

I was feeling bummed that I couldn't do much cycling in the next week, because I have a lot of meetings this week, but I just checked my schedule and I can get out either before or after work every day through Thursday. My knees are feeling a little sore tonight, so I may limit my workout tomorrow to going to Fitness Together. But if my knees feel ok, I'll bike after work.

But I won't be able to bike from Friday to Monday, because I'm flying to LA and then DC. I would love to try 25 miles next weekend if I were here. Maybe it's a good thing I'm traveling so I don't overdo it and get injured.

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Snow?

Liz and I were excited about taking our first long ride this morning. There are some new bike paths that have opened in recently that we haven't been on. One connects the bike path near our home to the path that goes over the Connecticut River through Hadley and Amherst to Belchertown, about a mile from where we used to live. We rollerbladed regularly on that path from the day it opened until we moved to Florence. It's a great path in that it goes through the woods and a swampy area, and has long stretches with no intersecting roads. It has deteriorated enough in recent years, though, that it's extremely difficult to blade on--tree roots have buckled the tar in so many places that it's impossible to get any kind of rhythm going. It's bumpy but fine for biking.

The other new path connects the path near our home to the one in Easthampton where we've bladed since we moved to Florence. The Easthampton path has a great surface, so that whole route should be really nice and a lot of it is really scenic.

So with those plans in mind, this is what we saw in our backyard when we awoke this morning:



Really? On the 23rd of April, a week before May, it's snowing out? What the hell!?!?

I had to go buy a new suit for work today, so I decided to do that in the morning and see if the afternoon would be better for biking. In general, I'd rather have a root canal without anesthesia than go clothing shopping, and today reminded me of why. I drove an hour to the Westfarms Mall outside of Hartford, because I've always had good luck at Nordstrum. No longer true. Their selection of women's business suits has shrunk from being in a number of collections to a small alcove. They had a beautiful suit that I loved, but made me look like, well, let's just say it wasn't flattering.

I was feeling bummed at the loss of a Nordstrum as a place I could count on, but knew I had to keep shopping because I'm making an important presentation in DC on 5/2 that I need a new suit for. I went to Lord & Taylor, and my depression grew. I saw lots of suits I liked, but they either didn't have it in my size, or they had the jacket in my size but not the pants, or vice versa. Argggggg!!!!

I had to keep reminding myself that the difficulty was not my body, but what they had in stock, but the idea kept creeping into my mind that if I had already achieved my weight loss goals, the world of suits would open up to me and there would be suddenly thousands of beautiful suits I could wear that would look great on me and I could leisurely choose among them. Or at least that beautiful suit at Nordstrom would have fit and I would have been on my way.

I was starting to reevaluate my existing suit collection--maybe I could wear something I already own to this meeting. My leg was starting to hurt--last night I was supposed to go to an event with the governor, and I had to walk a ways from the parking lot to the place on the Mount Holyoke campus where the event was. Then we had to stand around chatting, waiting for him to arrive. Someone told me that they had heard he hadn't yet arrived at the place he was supposed to be at before our get-together. After 40 minutes of standing, with my leg in increasing pain, I decided I didn't care whether I had a chance to chat with the governor or not, I was going home. So my leg was already hurting before I had to start walking all over the mall.

But I persevered and went to Macy's. I couldn't understand why all I could see was men's clothes and signs to more men's clothes. I went up a level, same thing. I asked a clerk--they have two buildings, one for men, one for women. Of course they did. We wouldn't want men and women shopping together. I had to walk across the mall to the women's store.

But it was worth it. I immediately found two suits I liked, IN MY SIZE, and tried them on. One of them had a very weird construction--the jacket had all kinds of weird folds making it looked wrinkled, but the other one fit fine. I bought it, and hope to god I don't need another suit for a year or two. Here I am in my new suit:



Now I'm going to go for a bike ride, despite the rain (thankfully, the snow turned to rain almost immediately). Biking in the rain will be 20 times more fun than shopping in the mall.

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Climb Every Mountain

I rode my trike to work and back today. It was a great deal of fun. I wasn't at all nervous going down the hill from our house, because the brakes are amazing. It has disc brakes, so it brakes much faster than a bike. I quickly learned, though, that I need to brake both wheels at once, cause otherwise I'd head off into a slide.

The way to work was all about figuring out how to use the bike. For some reason, I can clip my left biking shoe into the pedal without a problem, but I spent a lot of the way to work trying to get my right foot clipped in. Also, I had to learn to significantly downshift when I came to an intersection. Starting the trike from a dead stop is much harder work than pushing off of one foot and stepping on the pedal on a bike. I need to be in a low gear and have plenty of space between cars. It's much easier to work the pedals both ways on the trike than on a bike, pushing forward and pulling back.

People at work wanted to try it, so we all went out into the parking lot and everyone gave it a shot. It was a lot of fun. Jeff had the best ride--he got up a lot of speed, and then braked on one side and went into a power slide. I don't know if that's what he intended, but it really looked cool.

The real test was the way home--the vast majority of the trip is uphill. My legs started burning going up the bike path which starts 3 blocks from my office, and I knew that what nothing compared to the 2 miles uphill on North Farms Road. That hill is why our road is so popular with the area biking crowd.

Liz got her trike today, so she met me at the bottom of the hill. We wanted to do the first climb together. The trike is geared very low--much lower than my bike was. On the way to work, I never dropped into the lowest gear in the front. I took my brother's advice and downshifted early, rather than doing what I'd always done in the past, which was downshifting when I had to.

We made slow, but steady progress up the hill. I didn't need to shift into the lowest gear until the steepest section. It starts right where you can first see our house--the place my car got stuck in the snowstorm the day I couldn't make it up the hill. That section of the hill is about 300 feet to the top, where our driveway is. About a quarter of the way up that section, I realized I could make it, and looking in my rear view mirror, saw Liz was right behind me. We both made it up the hill! We were both excited--both of us thought we were going to have to work our way into shape to make it up.

We love our trikes! I sure never had any desire or interest in getting one, but now that we have them, I realize that it's much easier to give up rollerblading for something new than it would have been for biking.

I've been biking since I was a little girl. I remember the day I learned how to bike. My dad was holding onto the saddle as I pedaled, he let go, and I took off. I remember the feeling of freedom and joy at riding my bike. I've always had a bike as an adult, but have never chosen it as my means of exercising. The trike feels like something new and fun I'm choosing, rather than something I'm doing because I don't have any other choice.

Thanks again, Ruth, for making the suggestion!


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Braking Bad

I got my new trike today. Here it is:



It was getting dark out when I took the picture, so you can't see that it is a beautiful purple. I'll post a better picture in the sun.

I was coming back from a meeting in Boston when I got the email that it had arrived. My friend Roger was driving because my assistant Mariah had a very busy week that was exacerbated by the fact that Monday was a holiday--Patriot's Day for you poor souls who don't live in Massachusetts, and don't get the extra holidays we get because of the Revolutionary War. And it's not a day to celebrate our football team, if that's what you were wondering. It's a day to celebrate the Boston Marathon and a Red Sox game that starts before noon.

Anyway, in addition to Roger being my backup driver, he's been a friend for over 25 years. We met at the racquetball courts at the Y when we were in our 30s and discovered that we were very well matched. We played multiple times a week until a fateful day when my knee went out when I was serving. I waited a couple of weeks till the pain went away and tried again. Pain again on the first serve. I waited 6 months and tried again. Pain on the first serve. End of racquetball.

I told Roger about my new bike and over the course of the conversation, he said that he had tried a recumbent bike, and had trouble with it. He said that he felt like he was pulling himself forward with the pedals--it didn't feel like a natural movement. That made me a bit apprehensive, but not overly so, because I am committed to loving this new bike.

Liz teaches stained glass Wednesday evenings, so she couldn't come with me to get her bike. You have to be fitted for it, so I couldn't pick hers up. The second I got back, I tried it on our road. I found out quickly what's going to get tired first on the trike--my legs started burning within the first mile. I was surprise at how much work it took to move it. I couldn't get any speed up at all and was breathing hard. I thought that must have been what Roger was talking about. It was starting to get dark, so I turned back.

When I was almost back home, I started wondering why the feel of the handlebars on the right side was different than the left. I looked down, and remembered that the guy in the bike shop had put some velcro on the brake on the right side so the trike wouldn't roll around in Liz's car. I had been biking with the brake on. No wonder it was so hard to get any speed up!

I took the Velcro off and did the same route again. I flew! No burning in the legs, no hard breathing. It was fun! Whew. If it's not raining tomorrow I'm going to try to bike to work and back.

No more braking bad.

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Pushing 50

Reps that is--not age, since I'm pushing 61 there. Mark was all about 50 reps today: 50 squats down to touch my butt on a ball on the floor that was about 1 foot high, 50 lunges, 50 pushups, 50 dips, and 50 presses (fortunately with only 8 pound weights).

This was quite a departure from the workouts I do normally. Generally, the trainer will have picked out 3 to 4 exercises, and I do 12-15 reps of each, generally alternating upper and lower body, but sometimes incorporating both, like doing a squat while holding dumbbells, and moving to a press at the top of the squat. And then repeat 2-3 times, and then do another set of 3-4 exercises. So while I might do 45 reps of an exercise, it's usually 12-15 at a time, with other exercises in between.

When Mark first told me to do 50 squats, I thought he was joking. And following squats with lunges, and pushups with dips, meant I was doing 100 reps using the same muscles. I had to take a few short breaks, particularly with the pushups and dips, but it felt great to do that many reps. Of course, I am having trouble raising my arms to type this. Good thing it's Patriot's Day and I don't have to do much today.

I was able to hold a plank for 2 minutes and 22 seconds today, 22 seconds longer than on Friday. I'm excited to see how long I can keep improving.

6 Days a Week

I actually worked out 6 days this week! It's been a long time since I did that. I went spinning yesterday, and spent the entire hour worrying about my heart monitor. It showed my heart rate in the 40's to start out with, and much as I'd like to have Lance Armstrong's heart rate when he was in his prime, I'm not there. There were times when my heart rate would be in the 140s or 150s and seem accurate, and then it would drop way down again. I started fretting about it--I can't trust it, is it going to do this when I'm biking, how annoying, will I ever know whether it's accurate.

As you may have noticed, I'm a numbers person. I like tracking my numbers--weight, days of the week I work out, average heart rate working out, etc., etc. But much as I like numbers, was it worth wrecking my workout to obsess about it? The second I got home, I realized that the problem was most likely that the battery was low. Liz got me a new battery when she took Bennett out to get her a potty chair, because we hadn't brought hers from home, and ours was definitely tear-inducing. Both problems nicely solved--we now have a ducky potty chair and a working heart rate monitor.

I decided to try Zumba this morning. I was the senior member of the class by a good 30 years. I felt totally clumsy trying to follow the steps-- generally a half-step late at least, and when I'd finally get the pattern, the leader would be on to something else. I felt like I did at my first dance in 7th grade, clumsy and out of step. Also, there were a lot of steps that involved twisting on my feet, which is the motion that resulted in my leg breaking in 6 places, which made me nervous. I forced myself to stay for 20 minutes and then spent 25 minutes on the exercise bike. When I finished, I was glad I quit when I did, because my ankle was really hurting.

I'm tied with my low weight since I started this process, and am hoping to be at a new low tomorrow.

Holding the Plank

Fitness Together is having a plank contest, to see who can hold a plank for the longest time. You remember the plank: you hold yourself in a push-up like position on your toes, but in the case of the plank, on your elbows rather than your hands. Very challenging for your entire core.

It will take a miracle for me to win--the three people in the lead are all at over 8 minutes and the leader is at nearly 9 minutes. If you've never done a plank, you might want to try timing yourself at it. It's sort of like holding your breath for nearly 9 minutes.

The first time I tried it for the contest, I did it at the end of a workout that already incorporated plenty of core work. I don't remember how long I lasted-- I think it was about a minute. The second time I did it at the beginning of my workout. I was determined to last a minute and a half, and went 5 seconds beyond that. Today, I was determined to last a minute 45 seconds, and I lasted 2 minutes!

Could I have gained that much strength in my abs in a week, that I could stay up twice as long? I doubt it. I think most of it is psychological. With every length of time I do, I have confidence that I can get to that point. I'm excited to see where I'll be at the end of the month. Anyone want to join me and see how much you progress?

I did some fun exercises today. Here are a couple of them. In this exercise, I started out with my shins on the Swiss ball like this:




I then pulled my legs forward to get in this position:





It's a good exercise and fun to do. My problem was getting off the ball when I was done. For some reason, it seemed like a very difficult position to get out of, and I had a small panic attack trying to do so. I have such a fear of falling and breaking something, and I was afraid I was going to fall off the ball.

The only time I've had that kind of feeling before was in a couple of situations where I was claustrophobic. The worst time was climbing up in the Statue of Liberty (or the green lady, as Bennett calls her). If you've ever made that climb, you know that the staircase is nearly vertical like a ladder and that your head is at someone's feet and your feet are at someone's head. As you climb, the space gets narrower and narrower. I felt totally trapped and started panicking. I was relieved to discover that there was another stairway going down that I got onto immediately. That was how I learned I have claustrophobia.

I wasn't at all pleased to get that feeling while working out, and hope it's not the start of something new.

This second exercise is a bicep curl using the rings. I started leaning back like this:




I then pulled myself forward using my biceps, like this:



Also a challenging, fun exercise. I did another one like the above one focussing on my triceps. It's always great fun to workout with rings.



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What's My Commitment?

I was listening to Radio Lab today while exercising on an exercise bike at the Y. The program told a story from ancient Greece or Rome (I wasn't listening closely at the time) of a military leader who decided to position his troops on the edge of a cliff. That meant that they were going to have to fight to the death and it wasn't just a strategy to increase the motivation of his troops--their opponent knew that's how they'd fight, too.

The point of the story was that people can develop strategies to back themselves up against a wall, to force themselves to actually do something they wanted to do but were having trouble doing. The program went on to tell the story of a woman who fought for social justice her whole life, but couldn't get herself to quit smoking. She finally was so disgusted with herself that she told her best friend that if she ever smoked another cigarette, she'd donate $5,000 to the Ku Klux Klan. She never smoked another cigarette.

My business coach uses a similar strategy. In coaching a friend of mine who was having trouble keeping her commitment to meditate every day, she had my friend get a bunch of $50 bills. My friend committed that any day she didn't meditate, she would take a $50 bill, get in her car, and at some random place, throw it out the window. It was extremely effective. For me, I was having trouble keeping my commitment to make 1 hour of sales calls every week. I committed to paying my coach double if I didn't keep my commitment. She is not inexpensive, and I make my calls every week.

So, am I willing to make that kind of commitment about my fitness--make a big donation to Sarah Palin's campaign or to some homophobic tv preacher? The idea scares me. Right now, I'm doing great, but if I start having trouble again, maybe that's what I need to do.

I am doing great--I've worked out everyday but Tuesday this week and will definitely workout tomorrow and Saturday. That's the first time I've worked out 5 times in a week in a long time. I've also modified how often I eat--I eat breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, and dinner. And that's it-- I think it was the after dinner snack that was holding me back. I'm going to bed a little hungry, and that's not a bad thing. I lost a pound last week, and close to a pound in the first half of this week.

Wait till my bike arrives--things are really going to start hopping.

Writer's Block

As you may have noticed, I'm having trouble being motivated to write in my blog. I was considering declaring it over. I feel like everything I have to say, I've already said, I've done the exercises, got my heart rate up spinning, the food struggles are the same, etc. I don't want to be a broken record.

But I decided I want to keep it going until my birthday. When I blog, it helps me to stay focussed on my goal, and I really want to be officially not overweight on my birthday.

So one thing I really want to do in this blog is to record all the exercises I do at Fitness Together that are really challenging and fun, so I can create a record of the exrcises I like, and hopefully give other people fun things they can try. I also think that when I get my trike, there are going to be lots of new challenges and new experiences. My brother Tom, for example, gave me suggestions on how to use my gears to get up our hill. Tom has done some long, very hilly rides, like at Ragbrai, the annual ride across Iowa, so when he talks bike riding, I listen.

I'm back.

Girl's Just Want to Have Fun

First, the setting. I'm sitting on my deck in shorts and a tee shirt. The frogs and peepers in the marsh behind me are singing so loudly, I had trouble hearing the Sox game on the radio. I did yard work for the first time in a year and a half, because I broke my arm just about a year ago and missed a whole year. For those of you who think that might have been a silver lining from last year, I enjoy doing yard work. Yard work brings immediate gratification--the yard is full of dead leaves, a little raking and it looks great.

The first thing I did was dispense of the last little pile of snow that was hanging on in the yard. I tossed it on the driveway and in seconds it melted. Here are the before and after pictures:











But the real purpose of this blog is to talk about the recumbent trikes we bought today. Before I talk about them, props to Ruth for suggesting a recumbent trike. My first image was of Bennett's tricycle, quintuple size. It sounded humiliating. But here's what it looks like:



Hmmm--you'd get a better perspective of it from the side. Anyway, it's a totally fun toy! My motivation for getting it was only about stability--it's very hard to take a spill on. But now I see lots of other advantages--it eliminates all of my sources of pain in riding a bike--there's no strain of the back, shoulders, wrists, or hands, and, maybe best of all, no soreness from the bike seat. I feel like I could go out and ride 50 miles immediately--I always could ride 25 miles with at the beginning of the bike season, so with the combination of having done spinning all winter and eliminating the first sources of pain, 50 seems reasonable. I sure I'll discover what the next sources of pain are, though, so I'm not planning on 50 my first ride out.

I was worried about getting up really steep hills, because you can't stand on the pedals. What you do, though, is push back into the seat to get more leverage. I can't wait to try it. Unfortunately, I have to wait, because the bike shop has to order them. It'll be a 2-3 week wait.

Liz and I both both got them, thanks to the state and federal governments deciding to give us back a huge amount of money--nearly $13k. I don't know why, but I'm not asking any questions. Liz's back has hurt biking, and it aggravates her carpel tunnel syndrome. Also, we figured it would be easier to talk when we bike if we were at the same level. I don't think those arguments would have seemed as strong without the refund, though.

So stay tuned--I'll post pictures as soon as we take our new bikes out for a spin. Thank you, Ruth!!! I'm excited about training outside again.

Attitude of Gratitude

For some reason, I've run into a number of people lately who had heard about my broken arm and leg, but hadn't talked to me since it happened. Remembering what my life was like a little less than a year ago makes me feel incredibly grateful for the life I have now. Going from being in a wheelchair, unable to do the most basic things like get in and out of bed, use the bathroom, take a shower, get in and out of the house, and drive to being fully independent is an amazing shift. The only reminder that I broke my arm is a thin scar on my wrist--my arm is fully functional with a complete range of motion and no pain. And while my leg still hurts most of the time, I walk without a limp and can do almost everything I want to do. My main limitation is that I'm very cautious about doing anything that might result in a fall. I know I'm at high risk for breaking more bones, but in the meantime, I can live a normal life.

How amazing that I can workout with a trainer doing exercises with the same degree of difficulty that I did before the breaks, that I can push myself in spinning class. That I could return to Nicaragua and help build a house. It's really a miracle.

I am a regular reader of the obituaries in my local paper. This week, I've been reading them from a different perspective than I have before. Every week, there are obituaries for people in their 40s and 50s. It's much rarer to see obituaries for people in their 20s and 30s, but it happens multiple times a year. And then there are the obituaries for babies, young children, and teens. They are rarer, but still occur regularly. I am feeling grateful to be 60 and alive, for all my siblings and their spouses to be alive, for all my nieces and nephews, and great-nieces and great-nephews to be alive. I come from a huge family, and somehow haven't experienced that kind of tragedy.

Feeling angst about not losing weight seems a little pathetic, doesn't it. I am committed to continue my physical fitness journey, because I want to be able to live a full life for many years to come. But maybe I'll do so with a little less whining.

I'm Hungry!

Is there anyone who doesn't know how to lose weight? We all know it's a matter of burning more calories than you take in. But making that happen on an ongoing basis is really hard. I didnt work out today. I went with Bob to the Celtics game last night (fabulous game--really tight until maybe 8 minutes to go, and the Celtics took over. Beat the 76ers by 19 points). So I didn't get home until late and slept in this morning. I thought I'd go to a Zumba class at 5, but I'd told Heidi I'd go to the Survival Center's event tonight to celebrate the opening of their new facility. That started at 6 and I couldn't figure out how to work out, shower, and get there at 6. That means I need to work out every day until next Tuesday to keep my commitment.

So, no working out, less calories I can eat today. And I'm hungry. But I lost weight the last 2 days, and I want to make it 3. I'm still not down to the low point I was at the week after I got back from Nicaragua. I'll be psyched when I'm past it.

Stagnant

I think people are going to get bored with me feeling stagnant. It is really hard to be motivated when my weight doesn't budge--well it budges, but up and down the same 1-2 pounds. I'm basically at the same weight I was before I left for Nicaragua about 2 months ago. I talked about it with Mark today, and I really have to increase the number of workouts I do. I'm working out 3-4 times a week. Before I left for Nicaragua, I was working out 5 times a week. So I'm extending my commitment. I am going to work out 5 times a week, starting today. I need the reinforcement of losing weight, and working out 5 times a week will make that happen.