Funny how things change so quickly

I planned to write this last night, but was simply exhausted. Funny that, with all the physical stuff going on right now.

I wavered back and forth until the last possible minute, then chose not to ride the bike to my appointment. 37 miles on day two of riding really would not have been smart, especially since I'm still a bit tender today. Besides, I have flowerpots to return to my mother.

These were NOT going back on the bike

On the way to my appointment, I realized the tire pressure light was on in my car. I'd just put air in the tires Sunday, because the light had come on. It didn't bode well that it was on again. This resulted in my not riding to Superman's. Instead, I drove so I could write this post from here:


It's always a party at the dealership

The appointment went as well as could be expected. I will have a little help starting in May, providing I don't find a job before then. I'd hoped to get my run in early morning, but hope doesn't get me out the door. Only solid planning and stubborn tenacity does that. I'm NOT one of those people who can run on an empty stomach, so lunch was in order when I got home. That pushed my run out another hour, but ultimately I got it done. I run better in the afternoon. This run was at a 10:44 pace. Still not the 10-minute-miles I ran once and then expected to run forever after, but respectable.

I puttered around after running, avoiding the Insanity workout. I'm having a hard time finding a good place to do these workouts. I really do not like jumping in the house. Everything shakes and rattles, and while I do not expect to go through the floor I certainly hear it complaining. I set up on the concrete walkway out back, but laptops do not work well in the sun. I could not see anything. I know I do better when I don't watch, but I do at least have to see what the exercise is supposed to look like. I finally set up under the tree again, but that is not ideal either. I worry about tripping on the roots and the uneven ground makes some exercises even more difficult than they already are. It didn't help the neighborhood kids kept peeking around the corner and laughing at me. I asked if they wanted to come play, which is when they finally disappeared. I guess they didn't realize I could hear them?

I finally got things going, working up a sweat with the warmup. Now I know what the warmup is, I'm doing better and getting more from it. This particular segment was called Pure Cardio. I have to say I'm a bit disappointed in it, and may not do this segment again. What bothered me was when Sean T (the instructor) starting complaining before we even got out of the warmup. He asked the class if they were nervous about the coming workout, which would have been fine if he didn't then say he was nervous about it. I expect my instructor to work me up and give me confidence to do this, not make me nervous about what's coming.

I would have let that pass if he hadn't later twice mentioned how he needed a break. There is no shame in taking a break, and I'm sure it was a tough week for Mr. Sean T to record all these segments. Again, the instructor is supposed to work me up, not act like the workout is too much even for him. I might have let pass too, if one of his students, when asked how she was doing, hadn't said "I want to leave!" I wish they would have cut and started over at this point, though I understand there was a certain flow they would have lost. How do you say something like that when you know you are being videotaped for someone's DVD they are trying to sell?

This is what appears to be the token black girl. There are one or two black guys in one or two of the classes, and Sean T is black. The majority of the class is white and female. I wouldn't call her the token black girl except she is all drama, making huge gestures that indicate she is whooped, done, and just can't go on throughout all of the videos. It really does look like she is not as fit as the other class members, but they needed at least one black girl to show diversity. I do have to hand it to her though. She does always come back for more, regardless.

Watching this once would have been fine, though it left me with a bad taste. I get annoyed thinking about watching it week after week throughout the program. It is demotivating. It doesn't help I can't do some of the exercises. There is one in particular that consists of jumping from pushup to full jump and back down to pushups. They are basically modified burpees, and I simply can not do them with any speed. They go down and do 8 pushups, I get 4 done before they are back up. By the time I'm up, they are back down and doing pushups again already.

Here's my plan: I'll do the warmup, and as many pushups as I can. Then I'll go out for another 3 miles, making it a 2-a-day for running, come back and do the stretching. I got better cardio running than I did trying to do this video, and I won't have to get annoyed at either Sean T or his student. Of course, I say this. Watching the video again to pull out the clips above, I'm thinking "I can do this. Why am I thinking about not doing this?"