Officially an Idiot

That’s me.  Duh. 

If you happen to be a crafter and here for all things crafty and you happen  to take a peek at the post below this one and you happen to wonder why it has absolutely nothing to do with any kind of crafty-stuff, then you happen  to be a very astute observer because I  happen to be an idiot.  Officially.

I recently started writing again, after a really long hiatus (to get an idea of why feel free to check out this post about it) and began my re-entry into bloggyland with my avoiding-midlife-crisis-by-running-because-why-not-do-something-that’s-completely-impossible blog. 

Things were rolling along quite well.  In fact, one of my posts actually got onto WordPress’s Freshly Pressed front page feature.  Very exciting.  But as for the accidentally post to the wrong blog…just me taking a trip to Dum-Dum-Ville. 

And so it was that a couple nights ago, I pushed that wonderful “Publish” button and several days later discovered that I’d posted the prose to The Wrong Blog.  Ack!

Anyway, please forgive me the non-crafting references on this blog.  I know you come here for homemade happiness.  Didn’t mean to disappoint.

And look forward to some New Stuff coming on this blog.  Stuff actually relevant to What the Craft?!  I’ve got some pretty neat stuff to share.  Can’t wait.

The “New Thing.” And The Verdict.

So last Friday, I announced to the known universe that I was going to try Something New on Monday.  And I wrote about the Before-Photos I took in preparation for it.  Yes, I know today is Tuesday and I haven’t provided The Report yet.  But bear with me.  I have My Reasons.

Frankly, I partially wanted to make sure the New Thing didn’t kill me before I started telling everybody about it here.  And here’s what happened.

I did try the “New Thing” on Monday.  And it was pretty hard.  Some of it had me muttering not-so-nice-words at that little pixie on the TV.  But I did survive it, and it certainly wasn’t as hard as a 26.2 mile marathon.  Or a 30 mile ultra.  Or even that crazy race I did a couple weeks ago. 

And it sure didn’t take as long. 

Seriously–it was a fanny-kicker.  But as a distance runner, used to spending hours on my training each day, so based on the short time it took to complete it, it almost felt like I was cheating.  

Enter:  Tuesday.  On Tuesday, I had a wee bit of a problem springing staggering out of bed.  I did not feel like the exercise program from the day before was cheating.  In fact, what I really felt was, well, pain. 

But this pain was a hurts-so-good, kinda pain.  The kind where you know you’ve really had a good workout. 

For me, the pain was a reminder that there were muscles in certain parts of my body that I’d really not thought much about.  Certain areas of my legs, rear end, upper back, and armpit area.  Yes, armpit area.  Turns out there’s a lot of muscle groups that kind of powpow there to accomplish of lifting your arm at your shoulder joint.  Areas that you really don’t think about unless they are sprained, broken or otherwise injured. 

So why am I putting myself through this? 

Well, because in almost a year and a half of running, I’ve become much healthier internally, but STILL have had a heck of a time shedding the weight.  The diet and type of exercise of a distance runner are WAY different from the traditional population, so what works for lots of folks doesn’t necessarily work for us. 

And here’s the difference between this New Thing and the bazillion other New Things out there, at least for me:

I was introduced to this program by distance runners.  My kind of people.  People who have very, VERY, similar stories to my own.  (Sometimes scary similar.) 

And this New Thing actually WORKED for them.  Not just in a little way, but more in a:

“I went from a size 12/14 to a size 6 in 90 days without starving myself or being some kind of diet freak”

kind of way. 

Now I’d seen moronic claims about this stuff before.  Everybody has.  But this was different, because I actually KNOW the Human Being that made this happen for herself.  In fact, I know a couple gals who’ve made this happen for themselves.

So I’ve decided, I will try this New Thing.  I will do what these ladies have done for themselves.  It can happen for me too! 

I have NOT stopped running or training for races.  But I am incorporating the New Thing into my current training regimen. 

And at this rate, I should start the new year, minus the weight-and-body-mass equivalent of a toddler attached to my legs and hind end. 

Which would be a Very Good Thing. 

[And just WHAT is the New Thing of which I write?  Well, I’ll give you the details tomorrow.  And I’ll keep posting my progress (and ongoing commentary) on this blog until I reach my goals. 

But I’ll spare you the Before Photos.