Getting Back in Shape After a Break

First, priorities – my daughter’s wedding last weekend was beautiful. No real glitches, perfect weather and you couldn’t ask for a more romantic venue. It was a great group of people and the food was fantastic. We danced the night away in celebration and cried more than a few tears. She made a beautiful bride and our new son-in-law is official, though we’ve loved him as our own for many years.

But now we’re back to reality.

We returned home after the trip on Sunday, as it was on the beach and we went down in advance, and stayed after, to prep and enjoy it without stress. That meant for several days, we ate in restaurants and odd places along the way. It was all good – those crepes at La Galette on the coast in San Clemente are always nothing short of amazing in all the years we’ve been visiting – but we imbibed in wine, margaritas, cupcakes, burritos and all-things-food. Sometimes it was out of convenience, sometimes necessity, sometimes just because the food looked good. So our reality now is the fact that we need to get back in shape.

I didn’t gain any weight. I was fortunate. But, I look back already at the wedding photos and think ‘what happened to my muscle definition in my legs?’ and ‘why are my upper arms SO DARN BIG?’ I am not a slacker. Up until the last week before the wedding, I was active, but combine wedding plans with a site redesign for your day job and I had little time to do the normal running. No excuses, just the way it is. I’m paying for it now though.

I got back on track with running yesterday morning. It was a chilly’ish California morning, sun coming out from behind the clouds and flowers blooming everywhere, so it was an enjoyable…run? Walk? I had to stop halfway through to catch my breath! What is this??

I am not a fast runner. I typically run at about 5.1 mph. I got home after doing one loop in our development (1.5 miles) and my average speed was 4.4 mph. I almost cried. What happened?

Today, I was back at it. I was a bit fired-up – the husband had a tractor trailer back into him yesterday on the road (who does that??) and he’s okay, but the car isn’t and I had to squeeze in my son’s sports physical around work. And he let the Yorkie get into the Lab’s breakfast and she’s not supposed to eat normal food. Anyway, I was feeling more energetic than yesterday and I ran faster. Finished the same loop at 4.5 mph average. Not a great increase, but I’ll take it. At this pace, I’m only 5 days away from my normal speed….if it was only that easy. I can hope, but I won’t push and hurt myself.

So now I’m faced with rebuilding my stamina. I normally run about 3.5 miles most days, with a couple longer ones thrown in every 7-10 days and at least 1-2 with sprints to really test myself. This is going to be <gulp> work.

I’m not stopping with running. The weights are back out, as is the fitness ball, the Zumba DVD and the hula hoop I blogged about a few weeks back. (So much fun!) I’m also squeezing in the yoga for toning and strength and some serious squats and whatnot for flexibility and firming up the jiggles.

To motivate myself, I’m going to wear my new BaliniSports top today when I practice my yoga! They sent me a complimentary fitness top and it even came in my favorite color — purple! Thanks, BaliniSports! It’s a great style for me, since it holds everything in up top yet flows over the curves without hugging my roll too much. (And that roll will be going away, but for now…)

Isn’t it pretty? I used to wear my raggedy t-shirts and shorts, but if you’re going to work your body, you need to feel good about it, right?

It’s a bit daunting, this getting back in shape. I am a little discouraged by how quickly everything, well, falls into place…except it’s not the place you want it to fall. I haven’t sized up in clothes, but I sure need them to fit better.

Getting back into shape is a multi-pronged approach. It’s not just fitness but food. Making most of our food from scratch is the norm, so it’s not a horrible departure to get back on track. I made a monster shopping trip to Sprout’s Farmer’s Market and stocked up. And so it begins.

How do you get back on track when you’ve fallen out of your routine? I’d love to hear your ideas!