PAIN!!!!!

I started working with my trainer this week. We began on Wednesday with an in-depth fitness evaluation which came up pretty much as expected: good cardio basis, strong muscles and the worst flexibility he’s ever seen.

This morning we started the Gestapo boot camp training. Holy crap. I really never expected it to hurt this much. We pushed every little muscle until there was nothing left in it. While balancing on an instability plank.

My whole body aflame, I could hardly put on my jacket to go to work when it was over.

I may be awakening my inner amazon warrior, but my outer one has trouble stapling two sheets together now.

Tomorrow, appointment with the stretch specialist (or maybe with a stretcher), nutritional evaluation on Monday at 7 am.

Three days down, 87 to go.

lightspeedchick: they asked if I wanted a man or woman trainer and I said man without thinking about it
Gord: Its a good combo for you. You train more like a guy.
Gord: No offense
lightspeedchick: my first reason for saying guy was that I thought he’d make me train harder, be more ruthless
lightspeedchick: isn’t that sexist of me
lightspeedchick: but truth be told, it hits my vanity spot to have a hot guy evaluate how I’m doing
Gord: Yes, but a little sexism is more often than not realistic in certain cases.
Gord: When I worked at the Y most Female/Female trainers ended up chatting more than working out.
Gord: I call it the bartender syndrome
Gord: You already have a sista (in fact many!) you don’t have to pay for one.
lightspeedchick: right
Gord: When it comes to physical training you want to invoke your inner amazon warrior, not get all empathic and social with another chick.
lightspeedchick: oooh, I like that. invoke the inner amazon warrior
Gord: Exercise is about triggering the survival/combat instincts we all have. Just picture yourself as a female “God of War” (like the video game!)
lightspeedchick: oh man, you should be a motivator. I mean, you’re a certified trainer AND you even kinda look like tony robbins!
Gord: Its what I would do if they weren’t paying me 90k to chat online with cool chicks.
lightspeedchick: and to use superhero analogies to boost their motivation Gord: Don’t think for an instant that the “Amazon Warrior” comment wouldn’t conjure up Wonder Woman images!
Gord: I know my audience!!!!

(image via ign)

There’s definitely something to be said for changing one’s training pattern. If you keep doing what you like, your body adapts remarkably well and finds physiological shortcuts to carry you through your routine with minimal effort (and therefore, results). BAD body!

On the other hand, I am a creature of habit, and mixing it up is just not my thing. Making my four salad lunches every Sunday is the only way to ensure I won’t eat expensive, fatty shish taouk all week. Running my 45 treadmill minutes every two days is the only way to ensure I get any exercise.

In order to mix things up in the simplest way possible, I’ve been flirting for the past month with the idea of hiring a personal trainer. Someone who does the thinking for me when I’m out of ideas, someone who knows how to make the most out of every painful expended calorie, every bead of sweat. Yesterday, I finally decided it was time. Tonight, I signed him up. Tomorrow morning at 7 am, we start. Hopefully, six months from now, I finish the half-marathon, having doubled my endurance.

This won’t hurt a bit… I’m counting on it to hurt a lot.

I’ll keep you posted.

Waiting in my mailbox after a difficult, first-playable kind of week: motivation.

Yes, I’m a wuss, I’ve finally done it.

Last week it was too cold to go running, and I was really looking forward to this week’s mild weather to get plenty of kilometers in. But the city was a skating rink this morning, and had turned into an ice-cold ocean by evening. I grimly laced up the shoes and that’s when I saw that the street salt from last time had hardened my laces. I’m too soft for this shit, I thought. I’m not a running badass. I’m not the pushups in the mud at 5 am type. This running-in-the-Montreal-winter business is not working out.

So after finding out I had a good corporate sponsorship, I went to sign up at the local Nautilus. I simply wanted access to their treadmills, but I ended up with access to all pilates, step, spinning etc… classes, machines, sauna, fitness evaluations etc. And this was the least amount of …stuff I could get and be eligible to use the treadmill. The simple treadmill.

They even almost tempted me into their personal coach and nutritionist programs, but I resisted. Barely.

Oh well, no excuse now. First race is in three weeks! …outside.