Made it through one "1st"

Well, I was really worried about last night's workout for a few reasons, but mainly because it was the first one I was going to do by myself without my own little "Jillian" pushing me. I asked Kimber for some guidelines to help me be effective on my own...mainly on the cardio. She left me a "list" of mini-goals to push toward. On the bike, she said to try and keep it at 60 RPM at level 1, to keep the Elliptical between a 4-1/2 and 5 at level one, and to keep the treadmill at 3.8 the whole time, or at least 3.5 the whole time. LOL - Those were pretty lofty goals for a girl who considered taking a walk to mean walking from the bedroom to the kitchen.

And of course, there were challenges...beginning with getting there. I had been so excited to get my IPOD working with a playlist for the gym...because the first night I tried to listen to the IPOD, I had to scan through about 20 songs to find one that was tempo appropriate for the gym. I did that early in the day yesterday on iTunes, but didn't try to sync it up with my IPOD til leaving time. Word of advice - get your music loaded early...don't wait til it's time to go. I encountered issues and finally had to ask for help from a co-worker and we then had to resort to calling someone from the IPOD help desk. We were supposed to be at the hockey game by 6 to grab a bite to eat before the face-off. It was well after 5 before I finished my conversation with the friendly people at Apple...who actually were helpful and sent me the info on this "known" issue. Heading to the car at 5:30...my first thoughts are, "I can skip my workout"...then, "You can't skip your workout - that will be like a little child that mommy can't leave at home alone because they can't obey the rules"...then, "Well...I was supposed to have my IPOD ready and I was really looking forward to listening to music while working out alone...she will understand." You get the drift...back and forth..my two little voices arguing over which way I should turn. After some debate - I decided I had to go...maybe not push as hard as Kimber wanted..especially since we are supposed to be at the game by 6, but still get a little time in.

I am pretty proud of that decision. Now, I didn't do as much as I should have...or as much as my "Jillian" would have liked, but I did more than I expected. Hit the treadmill first and couldn't quite handle the 3.8 or even the 3.5 pace desired...but I was able to get started at about 3.2 and stayed between 3.2 & 3.4 for 3 minutes...gradually increased and was able to complete the last minute at a 3.9 pace. Then off to work on arms...which need LOTS of work...specially seein them in the mirror - not a pretty picture. Finished up arms and went to Elliptical for 5 minutes and kept it for the MOST part between 4-1/2 & 5, but certainly not entirely. Legs next..then the bike. Actually did what she asked on the bike for the most part. Areas that I didn't complete or achieve the desired results included squats with only 1 set of 12 reps and abs..which got absolutely no work-out at ALL. I did learn one thing....GO TO THE GYM EARLY. Arriving late meant alot more people were there...which isn't fun when you are already self conscious about your existance in a place like a gym!!! Finished up and went to see the Stars lose :-( - but had a good time and really was proud of the choices I made. Even dinner was the right choice with a guiltless grill chicken sandwich plate from Chili's and a diet coke. YAY ME!!

The really great part is that I am already seeing results and that feels more incredible than I can explain. Of course, I've weighed on various scales including one at work, the doc's office, my Wii, etc. Regardless of that, each of them are going down. I really think the best one to use as a daily measuring tool is my Wii Fit, especially if I weigh first thing in the morning before I leave the house. This morning, it said 245.2 - Since Friday, that is down over 7 lbs. I am so incredibly thrilled with this progress and scared at the same time, that it will end...I dread the day that I step on it and see the line moving in the upward direction again. It hasn't been too difficult thusfar to stay motivated..especially when there are visible & tangible results. I fully believe the level of difficulty would increase greatly and my motivation would decrease if I were to see no results or see an increase. I must prepare myself for that day - but for now - I am feeling pretty good!

Lunch was good today too. Fat-Free BBQ Pringles and a 6" subway sub with Coke Zero....so far no cuts and bruises from falling off the wagon.