This is starting to get ridiculous

I'm beginning to have trouble keeping track of all my games and competitions and challenges...

• GymPact which requires five 30-minute workouts a week
• DietBet which requires that I lose 4% of my body weight by this coming Friday (spoiler alert:  I think I'm about there!)
• PN Coaching (of course)
• And now... another Whole Life Challenge

Whew.

The Whole Life Challenge started this weekend and runs for 8 weeks, requiring me to not eat things I enjoy, like PopTarts and Diet Pepsi (which, let's face it, are like manna from heaven).  Also - workouts, drinking water, stretching, and a new lifestyle habit every week (this week is no TV/computer/etc while eating). Not bad timing for it, I suppose -- while things have been going well around these parts, I suppose a good nutritional kick in the butt won't hurt (too much).

I've been thinking about all these social media type challenges and interactions I've been signing up for -- it's comfortable for me because I don't have to actually, you know, meet and talk to people in person.  I'm finding that the older I get, the less I like leaving the house.  Don't worry -- I haven't yet gotten to the stage where I sit on my porch and yell at the kids to get off my lawn (give me another year or two... oh, and a lawn for kids to have to keep off of, I suppose).

But when I do leave the house?  After a short while I'm ready to go back home.  

Anyone else like this?  I find that even small groups of friends can wear me out; don't get me wrong -- I love my friends and love hanging out with them, but after a few hours, I just need to leave and not have to talk to anyone at all.  It's better one-on-one, also better if there's activity that doesn't require conversation.

I'm an introvert of the highest order, for sure.  Once I read the true definition of an introvert, I knew I had found a home. I read this article and found myself emphatically shaking my head in affirmation: YES.  Someone gets it (let's not mock that it's Huffington Post that gets me).  Being social drains my energy; being alone recharges me.

For a long time, this really bothered me.  Why was I the only one wanting to go home when all my friends were ready to continue the party?  It seemed to me that I was fundamentally broken somehow.  But whether it's the recent media coverage of introverts, or hard-earned wisdom or just being too old to give a shit anymore, I now recognize that this is simply the way I am. Just because I want to stay home all weekend and read and exercise and snuggle with my dogs doesn't mean I'm no fun.  It just means that I find different things fun.  And that's okay (no one but me has to like it).  And now that I know how to take care of myself, it's much easier planning outings. I don't want to be a hermit (well, not most days, at least), just want my social events in small doses is all.

Anyway.  That was quite a tangent, eh?  So - let's run some numbers, just for kicks.  Since the beginning of PN (this time around), I'm down 5 pounds and about 4 inches. I've missed only one workout and have fit in more than I was supposed to on a few of the weeks. I'm in a good groove and I'm just trying to not do anything that might upset the ol' apple cart. As easily as this groove has come is as easily as it will go. That sounds like a great title for a song, doesn't it?  You can have it.  You're welcome.

Blister in the sun

Clearly, someone smarter than me should have slapped
some sunscreen on my face yesterday...

Hey there, internet!  It's been the most gorgeous weekend here and I'm dreading having to get back to work tomorrow -- I'm guessing I'm not alone in feeling this way. I spent last week working from home because I was on call for jury duty.  Ended up having to report for just one day of service and didn't even get called into a trial room -- I sat in a comfy chair for about 6 hours, reading a book. Not the worst way to earn $10.

Things are still moving along here.  I'm down a few pounds and a few inches and still hearing that "I can do this!!" voice in my head (at least I hope the voice is in my head...).

On another topic, I talked with my coach about having signed up for the 10 mile run and she suggested that I run 3 times a week for the next few weeks -- my two interval workouts will be runs and then my Active Recovery day will also be a run. Outside of that, I'll keep to the PN prescribed strength training workouts and see how this goes.  I want to ease into a schedule of regular running a bit because I'm old and brittle and break easily -- at least that's what my horoscope said yesterday.

My PN coach has been really awesome this time around -- she's very involved and all over the PN forums and our Facebook group.  Like I told her, she's our do-gooder, rah-rah stalker coach. I feel like she's busting her butt to make sure that we're all doing as much as we can to stay focused and motivated and get the most out of this year.  She's definitely a keeper!

Since I'm not feeling very write-y and humor-y tonight, I'll keep this brief. Mostly I wanted to post the ridiculous picture of my sunburn, anyway, so, mission accomplished.

Quick check-in

You guys, I've really been wanting to post here.  Honest.  I've got a million thoughts (or at least two or three, let's not get carried away) bouncing around in my head that I want to share and get feedback on, but I've been spending most of my free time, well, doing things other than writing blog posts.

First, a quick update on PN Coaching:  it's going well.  I'm down a couple of pounds and a couple of inches.  Nothing dramatic, but progress.  More than that, though, is that I'm feeling in the groove and motivated and, like, "I've got this. Totally."  My food choices still are suspect from time to time, but I'm working out more and with more intensity (which my dogs love because I'm the ultimate salt lick once I'm done since I sweat so damn much (everything's for them, you know)).

This has nothing to do with this post, it
just makes me laugh.  That's all.

Another thing that I'm doing, just to see how it works, is DietBet.  Essentially, you put up a bet -- you can join games that are anywhere from $20 to hundreds of dollars -- and all you have to do (imagine ironic air quotes around "all") is lose 4% of your body weight in 4 weeks.  One teeny tiny percent a week.  That's it!  If you do that, you win (now imagine happy slot machine noises)!  Of the game you joined, the people who reach the 4% goal all share in the pot.  If everyone in the group were to reach their goal, you'd at least be assured of winning back your original bet, so you'd never lose money as long as you lose weight. I'm 1.5 weeks into it and am down about 2.5%, so I'm ahead of schedule for the moment.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!  If I win, it's free ice cream for all the internet! 

(not really)

If figured I'd try the DietBet thing because GymPact has been working really well for me (remember? I told you about this... don't you ever listen to me?).  I promise to do five 30-minute workouts a week (that are logged so they're legit).  I if I miss a workout, I pay them $5 for each one missed.  And at the end of the week, all the people who put into the pot for missing workouts fund the wonderful people (like me) who are good little workout kids and do what they said they would.  The winnings aren't exactly going to pay my mortgage (as in, I haven't had a week where I've come away with more than $2.00), but the incentive of losing money certainly hooks into my cheap, bohemian roots to keep me going.

On the Things I Sign Up To Do And Then Don't Do front, I'm signed up for the 10-mile run at Navy Pier in November. I'm determined to make this be a Thing I Sign Up To Do And Then Surprise Everyone And Actually Do It ... I miss running and being in the kind of shape that makes running therapeutic and not so hurty and painful. And the only way that'll happen is if I keep run training.  So - away we go!  I've got about 8 weeks to get my long runs up to snuff. Easy peasy.  Right?