I’m having some red wine tonight, because it is Fat Tuesday.
This red wine better wear off before Master Swim, or this is going to be a rough night. Last night’s swim was good. I did a series of drills that reinforced the high elbows and fingertip drags for freestyle crawl. I practiced catches, to ensure I was getting my hips out of the way and rotating properly. I practiced the hand entry, extend and glide move we learned in Triathlon Swim Clinic on Sunday. I practiced regulating my pace so that I don’t get as ridiculously out of breath at the end of class.
I cut 2 full seconds off my 25 yard sprints last night. I only took twenty five seconds to swim twenty-five yards. Booyah! I still know that someday I’ll look at that and laugh; but maybe not as much as I’ll crack up about my 60 second dog paddle lengths when I started.
So, back to the red wine. I will not be having any alcoholic, caffeinated, or carbonated beverages during Lent. Not that I normally drink soda. That stuff is poison. Not that I’m Catholic. I’m not. However hubby is. To get hubby off the old style GMO sugar beet ‘real sugar’ carcinogen-enhanced cola, I promised to ‘give it up.’ However, I do normally have a daily cup of coffee in the morning and glass of wine at night. Neither beverage serves me well from a nutrient-dense-calorie-intake perspective. So in my household, we’re both giving up our bad habits for a while. Wish us luck.
Also in recent news, I found a sheet of body measurements from June 18, 2012. I redid my measurements yesterday and realized that in 8 months I’ve lost approximately 13 inches. I lost a full inch off each of my upper arms, a half inch from around my neck, two and a half inches each from my chest and waist, two inches off my hips, and close to two inches off each thigh.
Immediately I think, “Could I have done better?”
The answer is an unequivocal yes. I could have done so, SO very much better. However…in fairness, I could have done nothing, or I could have done worse.
It does no good to beat myself up for not losing more or not working harder. I stumbled at times. I indulged at times. I’m human. I lived these last 8 months.
These next 4 months before EagleMan are going to be intense. I need a little intensity. I want to see the results of that intensity. I’m excited by what I’m going to do.
I may regret that jar of Hershey’s Hot Fudge topping over the pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Oh, yes. I shake my head in shame at that.
You know what I don’t regret? I don’t regret going to work out when I don’t want to go. I don’t regret that at all. I don’t regret the extended bike rides with the freezing wind chills. No, I look back on those with pride.
It’s time to do what’s tough. It’s time to give up things that are holding us back. It’s time to see some real progress. It’s time to kick it into high gear.
Ben and Jerry’s, wow it has been over three years that I have had ice cream; but I do recall how good B&J’s ice cream was. So if you are going to blow it blow it out with the best….
Hey losing 13 inches is still progress, be joyful for that.