Boot Camp kicked my ass

Okay folks. I am currently maintaining two blogs. One for my fitness rants and one for my regular everyday life stuff.

Brooklyn Jogger has a number of things on her fitness plate right now:

For my 29th birthday I got a personal trainer/boot camp fitness class. It isn't as scary as one on one training, 'cause I work with a small group. We meet twice a week for the next seven weeks at 6 am. Yes. 6 am.

Anyway, Day One was tough, but I handled it. We did fitness assessments.
Mile Run: 10:26
Sit Ups in 2 minutes: 52 (Holy shit sit ups are way harder than they were in 7th grade. I had the 2nd highest # in the class.
Plank: 55 seconds
Push-ups: 10 military, 14 on my knees (in 2 minutes)
Waist Measurement: 32.5
Body Fat %-26%
Weight: 135

Okay. Day One done. I was a little surprised at my body fat # and my waist measurement, but whatever. In 7 weeks, I am going to be a skinny bitch.

Day Two. Holy shit.

It has been two days and I am still sore. All over. Is that okay? Should I go to the doctor?

I cannot be this out of shape. I think I have mono. Does that cause body aches?

Brooklyn Jogger is changing...

Or you could say, expanding her repertoire beyond the field of fitness...

Look for me at

www.brooklynblogette.com

That's right. Blogspot no more.

Look out honey 'cause I'm using technology...

Back on the treadmill for the first time in a while.
Inspired by Peaches cover of Iggy Pop's Search and Destroy, I kicked it into high gear and ran 7.1! Totals: 3.1 miles in 43 minutes.

I feel pretty good right about now. I think the warm weather coupled with the smokin' soundtrack is inspiring a return to race...

On another note, I have been reading this book:


What is interesting about the book is how it focuses on the psychology of weight loss as opposed to the science. I had not really considered myself an emotional eater--But the "sabotaging" thoughts that Beck details as signals of an unhealthy relationship with food were dead on descriptions of my day to day food choices: It's been a rough day, I can eat this, Just one doesn't matter, Everybody else gets to eat it, why shouldn't I, etc.

The book is actually a 6 week program that has a task to accomplish every day, essentially helping you develop responses to your sabotaging thoughts.

Does anybody else have sabotaging thoughts about food or their body image?

A Challenge...

Those who know me know I love plans. I love order. I love lists.  Give me a List and I'll give you my undying love.  Okay, maybe it's not that bad.  Really though, I respond to systems.  

Every year, I sign up for the SELF Challenge.

check it out at : www.self.com

Anyway, it is a 12 week Fitness and Diet Challenge they run from March through May. Two years ago, I completed it and my name was in the magazine! That is either very cool. Or very lame. Whatever.

Some of the benefits I like are an online workout log and food calculator, online forums for inspiration and guidance.

Also, you can have buddies! ( You all see where this is going?)

They see how much you are working out and can send inspiring (or scary) messages to keep you pumped. Every year I beg. I mean BEG people to be my buddy. Some people say okay but never sign up. Some people just say no. WTF?

Be my f-ing buddy. Jeez.

If you are interested in being bullied into being my buddy, please contact me.

finding new footing...

I just finished a 5 mile run.walk in the park with J.  Temps were in the 50s and it felt like springtime.  We did 3.5 miles last Sunday with the pup.  

In between was a hell of a week.  The news dropped that my high school is being shut down by the City of New York (this is the second time this has happened to me).  At Thomas Jefferson High School, I had no qualms about the school being shut down: there were intruders in my classroom regularly, weapons, weed smoking in the hallways, more than 40 kids in some classes.  It was a mess.

At Brandeis, there are issues.  Gang violence is up.  Being late to class is totally without consequences.  Girls are bringing blades into the building in their gums.  But, it is no TJ.  What percentage of the problems at Brandeis arise because we are 30% over capacity with 3000 students?  Almost all of them.  Our graduation rate is 33%.  But that does not take into consideration the fact that over 30% of our students are English language learners in this country for less than four years, many of them having little experience with formal education.  

They will open four new schools in our building, each with 500 students each and call it a success.  Is it a success because there are four new schools or because they actually have a REASONABLE number of students in the building?  Could Brandeis have been successful if our enrollment was capped at 2000?  

We'll never know.  

I struggle with my decision to be a teacher--is this a fruitless effort?  Are my students going to be screwed over in new ways every year?  

My students found out their school was closing from the reporters waiting outside the building for them at 7 am.  

The first thing they asked me was, "What is going to happen to our teachers?"

They are used to being screwed.  It was nothing new.  They were worried about US.

I am going to go to work tomorrow and teach.  I going to teach about pronoun usage, give a quiz on how different cultures explain death, talk about Ralph Ellison's use of sound devices in Invisible Man, spout prolific on the importance of doing their homework every day, congratulate a student that shows up on time for class...

And try to make it to the gym.  After school.

Guilt

I live a pretty active lifestyle.  I teach on my feet all day.  I take public transportation.  I schlep groceries, target bags, laundry up and down the streets of Park Slope.  I walk my dog at least twice a day, sometimes 3 if J isn't around.

So why do I feel guilty when I don't run in 20 degree weather?  Why is lifting weights not enough in my warped little brain?  

I have not run in a week and a half.  For a number of reasons:

1.) Last weekend I chaperoned a student ski trip.  I also got vomited on and stayed up til 5 am caring for a drunk girl.  I woke up at 7 after the 5 am night to chaperone a day trip to the shopping outlets, and was up til 3 doing bed check and putting out fires.  I hardly slept at all so....

2.) I caught a cold.  James did not believe I had a cold because I don't complain 24 -7 like he does when he has the sniffles.  Today he asked where all the tissues went and I said, "Dude, I used them because I am sick." and he said, "You really are sick?!"  

3.) It is cold and snowy in NYC.  I guess this isn't an excuse.  But, when it is cold, I really want to just sit under a blanket and stare at my dog.

Today, I went to the gym and would not let myself run.  If I run because I want to- that is one thing.   But if I am running out of guilt, Is that healthy?  I don't know.  

For the next couple of weeks, I have a new policy:  I am not going to workout because of guilt.  

I will do things I enjoy.

What are your thoughts on this?

Frederick got a pig costume...

Enough said.