Taking a Break

I knew during Bootcamp yesterday morning, when even the warmup pushups were tough, that it might be time for a good solid rest day or two. The remainder of the workout wasn’t much better. My mind was willing — my body was not cooperating.

3 rounds for time:

• sprint on the bridge
• 30 step-ups
• 30 dips
• 30 pushups

My time: 16:22

• 20 around-the-world, 10-lb. ball

3 rounds:

• 8 burpees
• 10 med ball cleans, 8-lb. ball

I struggled the whole time and was pretty happy when it was time to walk back to the car and hit the shower.

At the office, my corporate overlords rewarded our project team for our recent long hours by sending us home around 2:00 p.m., so I took a lovely nap, read a book, and considered my weekend: What if I didn’t have a superhero Saturday? What if I chilled out like a mortal for change?

So that’s what I’m doing. Dave and I postponed our 7-mile run until tomorrow morning, and I’m not wearing any sweat-wicking superhero clothing right now: T-shirt, squishy pants, fuzzy leopard slippers… and a pile of books on the table in the backyard with a cup of tea.

Today is the official end of the Lose for Good campaign at Weight Watchers. Our South Austin location lost more than 4000 lbs. — which means the equivalent of 4000 lbs. will be donated to the hunger-fighting charities. Neato! We’re also donating to the local Food Bank, so I took about 50 lbs. of food this morning (enough to match my total weight loss) and learned that my loss during the 6-week campaign was 3.8 lbs., which put me a few pounds shy of the 6-lb. goal I’d set. Meh. My body fat is down and everyone knows the scale is a liar about the quality of one’s life and capabilities.

When the scale’s not cooperating, we’re encouraged to think about NSVs… Non-Scale Victories. I’ve got plenty of those. Today, I’m excited about this one: On Monday, I’ll be wearing a pair of black Dickies pants with pink tuxedo stripes down the sides. They were given to me on my birthday about 2 years ago, and were so snug, I couldn’t get them past my thighs. I stuck them in my bottom drawer with a vague hope I’d get into them one day. Today was the day.

This afternoon, I’m browsing my cookbooks for some autumn-appropriate veggie recipes, so I hope I’ll have something new and fun to share with you this week. I’m feeling an African and Mediterranean vibe comin’ on. (I’m also fighting the urge to do something “productive.” Man! It’s hard for me to take a break… but I’m trying. When I’m done with the cookbooks, I’m cracking open one of my favorite novels… The Way Men Act by Elinor Lipman. I’m hoping that when I get caught up in the characters’ lives, I’ll stop thinking about my own for a restful little while.)