Three months later .....

OK, it's been over three months without a post so you are probably correct if you guessed that Jenn has not been kicking ass on the pavement. I could give you all kinds of excuses but I know that you don't want to read them, and quite frankly I'm tired of giving them. We'll just say that the transition to parenthood has been a challenging one, made even more so by my return to work in January. I've managed to prioritize everything above my own needs - I worry more about whether the baby is happy, the house is clean, the laundry done and my husband getting enough sleep. Somehow I never manage to get around to making sure that my needs are met whether that be getting a hair cut or getting a workout accomplished. I should give props to my husband who has been very encouraging and tried everything he can think of to get me motivated, but in the end the motivation can only come from one place. And in the end, I need to learn to include MYSELF in my priorities!

As far as fitness goes, we got a BOB Ironman stroller for Christmas and with the help of a Kiddopotamus insert, we can get the Gremlin securely and safely strapped in. I've taken him out several times in the neighborhood and he loves it! I've only tried jogging with it a few times so far, but now with the BOB, I don't have to wait for Bryan to get home for me to get a run in. I've also started forcing myself to take the stroller if I need to run to the post office which is only a mile and a half round trip. Same for if I get a craving for a Sonic Diet Cherry Vanilla Coke which is across the street from the post office. Even if it's not far, it's a start :)

I also signed up for the Arkansas Grand Prix which is a series of races sponsored by various Road Runners Clubs across the state. This is the first year that my club, the Hot Legs, have participated and Bryan also signed up with his group. I was able to participate in my first race two weeks ago, the Chase Race 2 Miler. It worked out great because we had someone to watch the Gremlin and it was so short that it wasn't too intimidating for me. I was ridiculously slow and ran it in 25:25, but it just felt good to be out stretching my legs on the pavement. My quads were SO SORE for the next three days, I haven't felt that kind of soreness since I first started running in 2006!! Here's a pic of me, my husband and my Mom who was the official Gremlin sitter so that both of us could race.

I have several races on the near horizon and I know that if I start getting a regular run in three times a week, it won't take long to recover my pace. I just started on my routine work schedule last week so I now know that I can make it to my running club's Wednesday night run. I just need to work in one more run with the jogging stroller during the week and a weekend long(er) one when Bryan can watch the Gremlin.

I haven't thought beyond running for the time being, but I do need to come up with a viable way to do some strength training. I've never been in as good of shape as when I used to routinely strength train twice a week ... a habit long since forgotten.

My other big issue is diet. UGH! I HATE to diet! The reality is that I still have 20 pounds of baby weight that's not going to dissolve magically while I sleep. I joined Weight Watchers last month and even have the fancy points tracker on my Blackberry, but I just haven't committed to it. I'm so bad at keeping track of what I eat which is really the whole basis. I need to at least try two weeks of taking it seriously and see what happens. I am trying to be more aware of what I eat - specifically how much I eat, but honestly I'm still in the mode of "who cares, I'm fat anyway" which doesn't do me a damn bit of good when it comes time to fit into any of my clothes.

I think I've hit rock bottom. I'm sick of how I look and even sicker about how I feel. I know that Bryan will be a partner in this endeavor and will help me do what it takes to be healthier. I know I can do it - I've done it before and when I started off over three years ago, I didn't even think I was capable of running half-marathons and doing triathlons. Now I KNOW that I am capable of this ... so what's stopping me???