ChplHillGymGirl’s BodyBlog

Goal met. I took off Sunday. First day off in 365 days and it felt weird and I felt like a bit of a slacker so on to the next challenge…still haven’t really decided yet…marathon/ultra marathon, obstacle course race, a competition, i dunno. stay tuned

That’s right. The final countdown is here. 25 days left until I reach my goal of 365 consecutive workouts.  can i get a WHOOP WHOOP!!!

Yes, I am still alive…just very busy! I’ve seen all the new comments and messages on here, so i’ll get to people as soon as I can…a short note, everything is going great…job, school, etc….only about a month left til the 365 goal is met…i see no end in sight after that Updates coming - and pics, i SWEAR! Later…

Per my most recent blog (#74), I’ve nailed down at least one event to participate in: an all-trail marathon in Fort Mill, SC in September of 2009. So there’s another year goal. I still need something big though….so, I’m thinking of starting out with the marathon and then training for an Ultra (40+ miles) - kind of using the marathon as a warm up, then do the ultra in the spring of 2010. we’ll see.

So I’ve almost completed the goal I made last August 18th, 2007 - to work out everyday for 365 consecutive days. It has been quite a journey, both physically and mentally. And frankly, it has been such a positive influence in my life, I probably will not take a day off for quite some time…maybe in another two years or so .

However, the time has almost arrived for me to make another goal. I need something new, something different, something creative, something people don’t just decide to do everyday. A new twist on an old idea, in other words.

My friend John threw out the idea of a marathon….good idea, certainly an accomplishment, but the problem I saw immediately is that I don’t feel 26.2 miles is big enough. If I were to go the marathon route, I’d do an ultra (ie, the 50+ mile runs) and I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet….but then again, I also wasn’t sure if I was ready for a year of working out everyday.

SO - I’m open to ideas. Anyone have any??

Started my new job on Monday at a historic farmstead in Raleigh. I’ve only been there two days so far (I’m working part-time) but i absolutely LOVE it!!! We have a ton of fun stuff going on everyday - teaching school groups about farming, picking cotton, electrification, etc., festivals, cool exhibits, and animals to take care of. My favorite part so far is planning our next event - a rural reunion festival that will have a ton of food, games, exhibits, and farm animals. But i also love our three goats - Napoleon, Quint, and Boyd. Being the rookie on the farm, however, I got stuck tending the most stubborn of the three, Napoleon. He’s about 10 years old and loves to kneel down on the ground and stick his ass in the air so that it’s almost impossible to move him from one place to the other. While attempting to maneuver him yesterday, I got stung near my eye by a wasp and am all swollen up now. People probably think I got beat up

Otherwise, there’s not too much going on this week. Tomorrow I’ll be judging some photographs at the NC State Capitol for a photo competition and then its back to work on Friday.

I’ve got to start thinking of my next workout challenge since my current one is almost complete. I know I wanted to be able to do 20 pull-ups (unassisted) by late October when the NC State Fair comes around. The US Marines will be there and each year if fair attendees are able to complete 20 full pull-ups, they give you a t-shirt. Last year I got a Marine Corps water bottle for doing 11 pull-ups - but i want that damn t-shirt. Otherwise, i’m not sure what my next goal will be. Any ideas for something cool?

It’s hard to believe that I’m almost at my goal of working out for 365 consecutive days - another year gone i’m so used to working out everyday now that i’m not sure i’ll stop at 365 days - i may just keep going.

Looking back at this whole process has shown me quite a few ways in which i’ve changed in the last 10 months. While physically i’m much stronger and my endurance keeps increasing, mentally/emotionally I feel calmer and much more focused. I no longer see obstacles to any of my goals - i just figure out what i have to do to reach them and then go for it. For a long time I was afraid of failure, of disappointing not only myself but my parents and fiance as well. I was definitely afraid of the unknown, of not having total control over the outcome of my choices. However, I’ve discovered that by taking chances and having patience, everything goes exactly as I would have wanted it to, and usually ten times better.

As I think I’ve written on here before, I quit my full-time job with it’s lovely full-time paycheck at the end of February of this year. That was frightening to know that I would not have a paycheck for some time and would have to rely on my savings and a strict budget. Since then I’ve made a few connections through school and have recently been hired at a historic farmstead where I’ll teach children about NC history and how rural North Carolinians lived during the Great Depression of the 1930s. I also obtained an internship at the state capitol and have been granted the post of Guest Curator. My exhibit will be on display to the public in the spring of 2009. I’m also a docent for the capitol and give tours to kids ranging in age from 3rd grade up through 12th grade. In school (GO PACK!!), I made the Deans List for the semester, an accomplishment I’ve never achieved before due to my lack of dedication when I was obtaining my first degree years ago.

My point in all of this is not to brag - it is to show people what you can do with your life if you set goals and work everyday to achieve them. This could apply to your career, education, your workouts, etc. In my mind, there is no limit to how far you can go if you really want something bad enough.  Don’t waste years of your life saying you’re going to do something - start doing it today - and don’t look back.

202 days of consecutive workouts. I remember when I was in the first week! Have just adjusted my diet again - had been doing low carb/keto for the month of January, then got super stressed out about work (i’ve now quit my job and am happily unemployed) and school combined and ate a lot of sourdough rolls and butterfingers. Didn’t put on anymore than 3 lbs from what i’d lost in january, which is good, and the weight is back down now with the reduced stress and new diet. here it is:

meal 1 - 4 egg whites with cinnamon and splenda, 1/3 to 1/2 cup oats with splenda, hot lemon or green tea

meal 2 - double scoop low carb protein shake and 2 tsp honey

meal 3 - turkey or chicken low carb wrap with lots of veggies and some spicy mustard, diet soda

meal 4 - 1 cup plain yogurt with one scoop chocolate protein powder mixed in and splenda

meal 5 - white fish or chicken, sometimes steak, and veggies like sauteed onions and green peppers with almonds thrown in, sometimes edamame, or sometimes a large spinach salad.

snack before bed - 1 spoonful natural peanut butter

items i’ve bought but not used yet (this week)- avocado, sweet potatoes, cucumber. will work these into dinner this evening probably, or lunch tomorrow.

i still drink about a gallon of water a day, usually mixed with crystal lite.

i feel so much better now that i’m not working full-time. it’s wonderful to not have to get up at 4:30 am anymore, bust ass to the gym, go to work, then go to school, and not get home til 9:15 or so at night. i love being able to enjoy the weather outside instead of being cooped up in an office - especially since this week has seen temps in the 60s and 70s!! so hurrah for unemployment!!!

wow. anniversary of 5 months of everyday workouts today (started 8/18/07). doesn’t feel like it’s been almost half a year since i started this goal. and i still have yet to dread going to the gym everyday - i never get tired of it.

started school again last week. have class every night monday through thursday. by wednesday evening i’m usually beat. today i didn’t go into work and instead stayed home and slept in - til 11!!! and i’m still exhausted. but i love being back in class. i hate being at work during the day, but that’s changing soon enough.

started a strict keto diet with my fiance on 1/1/08. no troubles so far and have lost 6 lbs. nice to have abs again. haven’t done a body fat % reading in a long time, but will do measurements sometime this weekend.

anyway, time to study now.

was awesome!!! did bis/tris supersets, went up in weight in everything except for the barbell curls.

barbell curls - 3 sets of 40lbs x 10 reps

supersetted with unassisted dips - 3 sets of 12 reps

rotating hammer curls - 22.5lb dbs x 3 sets x 10 reps on each arm (up from 20 lb dbs)

supersetted with behind the head tricep extensions - 15 lb dbs x 3 sets x 10 reps (up from 12.5 lb dbs)

tricep kickbacks - drop sets:

1st set: 15 lb dbs x 12 reps, 12.5 dbs x 10 reps, 10 lb dbs x 8 reps

2nd and 3rd sets: 17.5 lb dbs x 12 reps, 15 lb dbs x 10 reps, 12.5 dbs x 8 reps (increase up to the 17.5dbs)
supersetted with  seated db curls - 17.5 lb db x 3 sets x 8 reps (up from 15 lb db)

40 minutes cardio:

15 cross trainer, 15 stair climber, 10 recumbent bike.

yayayyayayaya!!!!