"Pay no attention to what the critics say;
no statue has ever been erected to a critic." ~Jean Sibelius
Diary:
Last night, I worked out for 30 minutes, walking and running. No weights, as I am still trying to get my system in order. I will try to put things together in order to start weights by this weekend.
I cooked a Maple Chicken with Apples dinner from Let's Dish, last night, and had a bowl of cereal (raisin bran and soy milk) .
The Chicken dinner was yummy, and a good portion. I am impressed with Let's Dish, and I think this is going to work out well for me.
I also had a Tab energy drink that was the most bizzarre thing I have had in a long time. It was supposed to be a low calorie energy drink. It tasted like nothing. It didn't have a fresh taste, it had 'vegetable' food coloring, which I don't know what that means. What is the color of 'vegetable'? In this case it was a light rose color. It also didn't give me much energy. I am going to stick with my XS Energy drinks, which actually have flavor and are chock full of Vitamin B (3, 5, 6, 12), which tend to give me energy without a sugar high, and also I find Vitamin B helps me combat deppression, of which I am very vulnerable.
This morning, I had two turkey bacon slices, two eggs for breakfast, a protien bar for snack, and left-over Maple Chicken and Apple - plus some spinach. (Not the fresh bagged kind that is currently being scrutinized, but some frozen spinach from a while ago that I need to use.)
I plan on having an XS energy drink at 5pm, on my way home, and 1/2 a protien bar. Tonight, I go back to the gym and do some power-walking and elliptical work.
Notes:
Twins lose the first ALDS game against Oakland. Frank hit two homeruns. How depressing. I think the Twins, who have proven themselves to be scrappy underdogs, are going to win, but I wanted Johann to have a killer day. All of the media indicate the Twins have "intangibles" that swing the pendulem their way to win the contest.
Today, I feel sore and hurt all over. my workout was NOT as planned.
As I indicated earlier, I was *going* to go to a new gym next to my home, called SnapFitness, and workout there and then walk home. I had gone in to the gym earlier last month and got a key, filled out a form, and thought everything was good to go.
Last night, I changed my clothes, walked to the gym (10-15 minute walk), got to the door, and my key doesn't work. When I called the manager (who's number was on the door, in case of emergency) he was somewhat put off. "Ummm, welll, I will be in the center Tuesday or Thursday from 10am - 6pm, and we can solve this problem then...." WHAT! EXCUSE ME, but a) I need to workout NOW. IT IS MONDAY OCTOBER 2ND, THE FIRST DAY OF THE FITNESS CHALLENGE, AND I MUST WORKOUT. I GOT MYSELF HERE, AM READY TO WORKOUT, AND IT IS TIME. I DON'T THINK YOU UNDERSTAND HOW HARD AND HUMILIATING IT IS FOR ME TO WORKOUT. THIS IS NOT HAPPENING.
b) I work on the other side of town and I cannot be here from 10am to 6pm. This is ridiculous. Don't most people work out AFTER WORK HOURS??? It is obvious that you don't want to tap into the market of people who WORK FOR A LIVING!!!
c) I am the customer having a problem calling the number on the door. Why am I getting this run-around? Why even have your number on the door, if your answer to a question is 'come back when I am in the office"!!! WHAT AN IMBECILE!! WHAT A JACKASS!!! WHAT A MORON!!!
d) I walk home frustrated and depressed. Is the first day of my challenge going to end up in a bust! NO! I WON'T LET IT!! I checked my bank account statement, and I can't find the payments, but I am not sure what they are listed under. Now I am going to have to call this jerk to find out what in the world happened with my application.
SO---------
I get in the car and drive to the Inver Grove Heights Veterans Memorial Center. There is a fitness club in this building, and I have seen it before when I drove by. I took a tour. It is nice. It has a swimming pool, walking track, elliptical machines, group aerobics, weights (free weights and machines), fitness instructors, and other stuff. After the tour, the staff person gave me some material and said I could think about it and come back anytime. They are open from 5:30am to 10:00pm.
I told him that I DON'T NEED TO THINK ABOUT IT. IT IS OCTOBER 2ND, THE FIRST DAY OF THE CHALLENGE, AND I MUST WORKOUT!!! I signed up, but was quickly reminded that the world is totally against me, and nothing can be that easy. Here we go:
a) the club costs $45 a month for IGH residents, but there is a $75 enrollment fee. "AHH", the attendant says, "We had a promotion for IGH residents that we would waive the enrollment fee, but you know what." I knew what he was going to say, and wondered why he opened his mouth "you know what, that deal expired in September. shuhks". "Darn.", I monotoly retorted, sarcastically. WHY DO PEOPLE MAKE YOU FEEL EVEN LOUSIER THAN YOU ALREADY DO, BY BRINGING UP THINGS THAT HAVE NO RELEVANCE. Why didn't he just say, "Ahh, you know someone won the lottery somewhere, but that person is not you, so sorry..." He could have just indicated that the $75 enrollment fee was a mandatory fee that everyone pays, and then be done with it. I woudn't know or care that someone else got a deal, or that if I was there 4 days ago, I could have got the same deal. IT DOESNT MATTER. TODAY IS OCTOBER 2ND, THE FIRST DAY OF THE CHALLENGE, AND I MUST WORKOUT!!!
b) The final nail in my first day coffin. I have the paperwork done, the first month is paid, I have my membership. Now, the attendant gets ready to make my membership card so I can get in and workout. He has problems figuring out how to use the digital camera. It flashes twice without warning, and he says "dang, that didn't work" several times. Finally, he gets a picture of me and things are working nicely, then he can't print my card. After a while, a girl from the opposite side of the center yells, "Hey, the printer hasn't been working all week. You won't be able to print out any more cards!!!"
The attendant just looked at me....... I blurted "TODAY IS OCTOBER 2ND, THE FIRST DAY OF THE CHALLENGE, AND I MUST WORKOUT......."
At that, the attendant simply walked around the office, and opened the door. I went in an walked around the walking track. It is 1/16 of a mile long, so I did about 10 laps. I then looked around at the weight stations, and ran about 6 minutes on the elliptical.
I was dead tired. I went home. Today, I feel like I got beat by a bat, but that is a pretty good feeling. I am going back to the Vet's Center tonight and see what I can do. I am now feeling justified for not planning on running the 5K this weekend, as I am sure I would break something. This is going to take a while.
tommorow, I will try to discuss what I did on Sunday, and how I think this might help put me over the hump..
Chazz
