Wolfpack.

On Wednesday night, I met up with some friends at bar in town called Armadillo Palace for a 1/2 birthday celebration (she gets shafted every year by Christmas parties and the like!) and to see Ryan Turner. Upon my arrival I saw a friend that I hadn't seen in a couple months and HOLY CRAPBALLS she looks UNBELIEVABLE! She's lost ~70lbs throughout the past year due by pursuing a healthy lifestyle (running and eating right). Then I walk inside to see the 1/2 birthday girl, and she's been kicking a$$ and taking names TOO (bootcamp, rowing, eating right, etc.).

The first thought that popped into my head was "I want to be a part of THAT wolfpack." Now, why I'm thinking in Hangover references, I can't explain, and to be honest, I cracked up laughing at my thought pattern, but the underlying train of thought is there. I want what they've got. And I know how they got it. HARD WORK. And it's attainable - I just need to DO IT.

Today being July 1st, it's a good time to look back at New Year Resolutions. So far, I haven't been diligent. But there are 6 months left this year - and you can make a HUGE difference in 6 months! So I'm back at it. And I started all of this, on a FRIDAY. Of a HOLIDAY WEEKEND. Am I crazy? Maybe. But there's no time like the present!

There are SO many reasons I want to start a new routine that includes an EARLY morning workout.
- Gets my workout out of the way so I free up my afternoon/evening for the fun stuff, or even an aerobic class or two should I want to do one.
- I get to work earlier, which means I get to leave earlier.
- Traffic. I will be able to avoid all of the traffic on Hwy 6 between my house and Sugar Land (they're installing medians all the way down and taking over the inside lanes as a result. Traffic is a huge cluster now!) AND traffic is better on 59 too - win/win!
- I tend to eat better and drink more fluids if I workout in the morning.
- I'm more focused and diligent throughout the day.

So this morning I scheduled a wake up call from 1/2b-day girl at 4:30 am. And I set my alarm for 4am. And I went to bed at 9pm last night. I actually was excited to get up when the alarm went off. I got everything ready, spent some time reading/journaling (I do this every morning) and then left for the gym. I knocked out a cardio circuit that I made up (30 min HIIT on the elliptical, 5 min on the stairmill (holy schnikees that thing is HARD!) and a 15 min walk on the treadmill and then finished off with 200 abs. One of the trainers actually came up to me while I was on the treadmill to let me know he liked my 'fire' and was excited to see me jump on the stairmill (most people avoid it like the plague for a reason!) - anyways - it's fun to have someone notice your determination!

It was a great first day. Now I need to continue eating right and stay on track with my exercises. Here's the plan for this weekend:

- Saturday: spin class at 8:30; possibly cardio kickboxing at 9:30 (depends on the teacher!)
- Sunday: full body weights at gym, or Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones
- Monday: cardio circuit + 200 abs

and I'll be back to update for the week on Monday as well!