I am a Warrior!

In my life, I can count on one hand the number of things that I have done where I truly was terrified and completely unsure of my capabilities.  

NUMBER ONE: Traveled through Europe for two weeks with my good friend Kristin.  We managed to have a great time, not get our money stolen and never missed a train or flight.

NUMBER TWO: Studying for, taking and passing the Texas state exam that certified me to teach 8th though 12th grade math.  I did it all while seven months pregnant.

NUMBER THREE: Preparing for and completing my first ever 5K run complete with mud and obstacles, all finished with a pulled pork sandwich and a beer.  Mission.......accomplished.

The main stage at the run.  Despite the thousands of people that were there either participating or as spectators, the event was run incredibly smooth and organized.

My clean sneaks before the race.

Me and my sister-in-law, Laura.

The finish line of the race.

About to hit the fire.

Ugh.  I miscalculated my entry into the mud and ended up with a face (and mouth) full of mud.  Gross.

Getting through the gunk.

You don't want to know what my shower looked like after I washed all this stuff off.

Emerging from the mud - the hardest part was getting up that slope while simultaneously trying NOT to bust my butt in front of all the spectators.

Treading carefully.

Crossing the finish line!

All done!  We worked really well together - kept up a good pace and encouraged each other through the obstacles.  We've already decided that we will be doing this race again next year with a goal to finish in under 45 minutes.

Epic.

Dirty sneaks after the race.

My "free" Warrior t-shirt and the ten dollar shirt we bought for Natalie.

Show and Tell: Fitness #1

THE INSPIRATION:

Via

THE MATERIALS:
- The weight room at school

- Athletic shoes, shorts, a t-shirt and a ponytail

THE TIME:
Just a few minutes to get all of that done once.

THE RESULT:

I wish it was that easy....one work out and BAM!  Bikini model.  Unfortunately, working off the baby weight is going to take more time than one afternoon in the gym.

HOW WILL I USE IT?
I went into the gym on my conference period to work-out and I'll be honest.....it was a good warm-up for me.  I wouldn't rely on it to be my WHOLE work-out.  I had already done a short work-out in the morning with our 8th graders and then again with my 6th graders during their fitness day activity so I was just kind of finishing off my work-out for the day (and maybe those curly fries I had for lunch).  I used it as a warm-up and then went ahead and did my circuit training with the weight machines.

WHAT WILL I DO DIFFERENTLY?
I don't know if I will use this one again - it was really choppy with only doing a few crunches and push-ups and always switching off between things.  I've got a few others saved on Pinterest that I'll be trying soon.

What have YOU been pinning and creating lately?!

Call Me Crazy...

But I have felt better about my new role in life as a mother to Natalie in the past three weeks that I've been at school than I ever did when I was home with her for two months. 

It helps that I love my job as a teacher and coach, I (most of the time) love the kids that I work with and I really enjoy the company of my co-workers.

I also think that a little time apart is good for both Natalie and myself - she gets to be around the big boys at her baby-sitters and she also is getting accustomed to someone other than Momma or Daddy taking care of her, while I am able to be more patient and loving with her in the afternoons and evenings because I'm not exhausted from being attached at the hip to her all day.  It's a win-win situation.

But I think the thing that has made me feel the happiest and the most complete is being back in the weight room. 

Yes.  You read that correctly.  I am one of those weird people that actually enjoys working out and instead of dreading a trip to the gym, I eagerly anticipate the high that I get from jumping rope, lifting weights and working on our new row machine.  It's a challenge for me - how else can I push myself, can I lift more weights today, can I jump for longer...I love the slight achiness my body has after a work-out because it means that I worked hard.  I'm more awake, alert, positive and content after I've been in the gym and I am now realizing that a lack of physical exertion might have been what led to my occasional (but seriously scary) bouts with postpartum depression during my maternity leave.

I'm in the midst of reading a book called "Mother's Need Time-Outs Too" and it's all about taking time for yourself to reload and recharge...and more importantly...how that isn't being selfish, but instead it makes you into a better mother and wife for your family.  Maybe it's my perfectionist tendencies, but I often find myself in the "Just let me do it" and "I can do it all" mentality.  I can get wrapped up so easily in the death spiral of OCD - the towels have to be folded and put away in an exact way and even if someone else lovingly does it for me...I have the compulsion to refold them.  It's such a double edged sword - because of these tendencies, my house is clean, the clothes are put away, everything is organized and in it's proper spot...but I'm completely exhausted physically and mentally by the end of the day.  So what do I do?  How do I find that gentle balance of keeping a house orderly, neat and up to my standards, but at the same time relinquish control of certain things so that I can take a break from being Super Laura?  My first step is getting back into the gym because that is something healthy that I can control.  I've already made a plan with Craig - at least three times a week, after I get up with Natalie around 7:00 (because I have a feeling that she won't know that it's summer vacation and therefore a time for her to sleep in) and after I feed her and get her ready for the day, I'm handing her off to Daddy for morning play time and nap so that I can head down to the gym and get my anxieties worked out on the treadmill and on the weight machines.

I'll be real honest...it's really not even about the "post pregnancy weight loss" for me because there just isn't that much weight to lose.  I went into pregnancy in great shape with the idea that the healthier I am in the beginning, the healthier I will be at the end.  So far it has paid off and I was able to lose any "baby weight" that I put on during the pregnancy.  I guess that's my reward for throwing up for four months straight at the beginning and then having severe heartburn the rest of the time.  Now it's all about toning and strengthening.  Although I don't look like I had a baby three months ago when I am wearing clothes...things are jiggly and my body just isn't as strong as it used to be. 

And plus...I've got to be in great shape to show Natalie how to approach and jump to hit a volleyball someday.  Speaking of which, this is the onesie that I ordered yesterday and that she will be sporting this upcoming school year at all my volleyball games.

A Brand New Regime

By all normal standards, the weight that I am currently at (and considering my height) is not overweight or obese or even fat. To other people I am sure that I look fairly skinny with a more or less athletic build. Unfortunately though, I still don't always see the person that others see - in my mind I'm a little chubby and a lot flabby both of which are two things that I don't want to be on my wedding day. Furthermore, I finally entered physical therapy for the knee pain (called chondromalacia) I've been experiencing on and off since May and I know that although this pain is quite common in young and athletic women...I could probably keep other injuries at bay if I'm in great physical shape.

When I first arrived at my new school and witness the Physical Education class, I was a bit overwhelmed and confused. The coaches actually WORK OUT with their students!? Who knew!? At my old school, where my fiance is the head of the PE department, the coaches generally stay seated at a table in the front of the gym while running class. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but I'm sure that I wouldn't have hated running so much in Athletics if my coaches had joined in with me. For the past few months, I've had to cave into peer pressure and I've been jogging (or speed walking) with my kids on Fitness Days as well as doing crunches and LEARNING(!) to do push-ups again. Each of the coaches that I work with don't use their conference periods to surf the internet or run errands, but instead they go to the weight room and work out. Again...peer pressure has gotten to me and I found myself picking up my iPod during my lunch break and heading back to the school earlier than usual to get a work-out in. And that's in addition to the weight lifting I did with the 8th grade athletes this morning as well as the hour of volleyball that I will play tonight.

It's a bit much, I agree...but I don't want to be a fat bride with jiggly arms and the more I work out, the better I feel and the more I will do it and the better I will look on the beaches of Antigua on our honeymoon!

No work-out is really complete without an accompanying healthy diet and this is also in the process of changing. I was referred to this amazing website called http://www.allrecipes.com where you can peruse many different recipes and then once you have chosen what you want to fix for the week - just print off the shopping list! Ta Da! All the hard work is done for me! Hurray! I'm not sure how excited Craig is about this new development, but quite frankly I'm instituting a new rule: I will cook healthy dinners and if he doesn't want to eat them than that's his perogative.