The Prologue

It's a standard reaction to a threat: fight or flight.  Well, until this morning, my reaction to the TM race was flight.  Avoid.  Deny.  Resist.  And then probably cry about it in a corner somewhere. 

But today is Day 1 of my training regimen.  In fact, so far I'm only halfway done with today's workouts.  Ran a mile this morning and did some upper body lifting.  And then tonight, zumba.  So, unlike before, now I'm working on the offense. 

I bought a scale and a pedometer yesterday afternoon and while I don't intend on making this TM goal about a specific weight loss, I do want to check in weekly or so to see what progress I've made and be able to tweak things if I'm not seeing the results I want. 

I have a set plan for how I'm going to defeat TM but I can't say I've seen any of it work.  It's too early to tell.  I'm starting with the 10k training schedule (www.marathonrookie.com) along with some weight lifting a couple of times a week. And zumba with a friend Monday nights.  So, ideally that's about 7 workouts a week, some of them doubled up on days.  Which, in all honesty, frightens me.  Especially coming from 1-2 workouts a week, tops.  However, the morning workout felt really good.  After the fact.  The 3:45 a.m. alarm was kind of a kick in the face.  And I immediately turned it off before telling myself, "Wait, you're not allowed to be a slacker anymore because people are going to ask about it."  And then I got my not-so-happy butt out of bed.  I don't love the idea of morning workouts (if 4 a.m. is even considered morning) but LA Fitness is packed in the afternoons, even when I get off at 3:30, so I hate being there.  The 20 minute max on cardio equipment while people are waiting is going to be limiting once I start getting into longer runs.  So for now, during my "trial" week of this schedule, mornings are going to be my calling.  And I'm hoping to replace at least a few meals a week with protein shakes.  Most likely on the evenings I have workout plans.  Dinner seems to be the meal where I splurge (calorie wise) most often so limiting my dinner options will hopefully bring my calorie count down.

I wish I could tell you guys what is working and what isn't.  All I can say is that I feel pretty good at work today after my morning run.  Although it didn't feel as productive as I wanted (it was a slow mile), it's a start.  And that's all I can ask for as of now.  However, within the next several weeks I have an internal goal for TM; I want to be able to outrun The Compromise when I steal his Nicorette gum.  He's been picking on me and that's my method of revenge.  But at this point, since he's working out like a madman, I don't have any chance of escape.  That's about to change.  Everything is about to change.

P.S. I understand that zumba isn't exactly a TM worthy workout.  But a girl's gotta have some rhythm in her victory dance as she crosses the finish line.