The Pain Game

I'm possibly being the laziest person ever right now. You see, as I type this—from the couch—there's an extremely fit woman hosting a Comcast OnDemand Bridal Shape Up on my TV. Yup. I gave up on it, so here I am.

(Side note: I wasn't completely lazy today, I even did this workout before I clicked for the bootcamp, and you know what? It was freaking hard - seriously, watch that segment and then try doing it! I hate how these trainers make it look like a piece of cake!)

I think I forgot to mention that I hurt my knee about two weeks ago, and the back story to that is that it's the same knee I had surgery on several years ago. My knee has never given me trouble before, but the second I felt—and heard—a not-so-pleasant feeling I knew I did something bad. Luckily it only hurts if I put a lot of strain on it (i.e. walk up hill, downhill, do jumping jacks, squats, lunges, etc.), so I'm still continuing with training for my half marathon (16 days away!!!).

But here's the crappy part.

A couple days before I hurt my knee I kinda sorta ordered my wedding gown (WOOTY WOOT!!!), but I may have ordered it in not one, but TWO sizes smaller than what I am right now. Yup.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Hello, my name is Jessica and I just became a crazy bride. So now you can see why a knee engery is kinda cramping my style - literally. It hurts to do cardio and I need to do cardio because that, combined with my healthy-eating lifestyle, is how I will lose weight.

These are some of the videos I've been using and actually enjoy working out to, but I think I may need to take up swimming again until I get this knee problem under control. It's really a gigantic inconvenience because I actually like working up a sweat in the mornings. Lately I've been working a lot on strength and sclupt using hand weights, but I can only do so many arm work outs. If you guys can think of any other low-impact way to get my cardio in, please let me know.

Trash Talking

I've been branching out of my normal training routine and stepping away from the treadmill at the gym. Recently, I've been walking outside around my neighborhood. It's just so nice outside in the mornings now, and today I even left my earphones out of my ears and let the birds sing to me. Everything about this morning's walk was fantastic...

...except for this:

Today's trash day in my neck of the 'hood, and whenever I'd get within 10 feet of most of these black and blue bins I could sure tell that some of that trash had been sitting in there for a good week. It kinda puts a damper on the nice, fresh air.

Eight Miles: Uphill Both Ways

Whew. Today's training took a toll on me. Truth be told, I didn't warm up and stretch nearly as much as I should have, but still, when you're literally going uphill (both ways!) it's hard! My lower back was sore after just four miles, I could feel blisters forming on feet, and my legs were way passed feeling like Jell-O. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Albuquerque area, let me break it down for you. (My comments are highlighted in yellow, try clicking the picture!)
All in all it was very good practice for me. The one fantastic thing about training in in Albuquerque is that these hills that are making my legs and bum so sore now are going to feel like an ant hill in San Diego. I started doubting my ability to complete a full marathon (26.2 miles) in a little more than two months, but I know I have the support of my friends and family, so I'll do the best I can.

P.S. The only reason you're getting a post tonight is because Jenna begged for one, so you can thank her for my whining :p