Un paso adelante y dos para atrás (A step forward and two backwards)

Don't you hate it when you start doing something, and you are super motivated, you are giving it your all, and then it all goes out the window? Yeah, I hate that too, and that's exactly how my year has started. Well, not all of it, but at least the part that gives me the most work.  So here's what happened.

As I said in my last blog, Andrew and I joined the gym to have access to more equipment, to use the treadmill, etc. Because in the past I have had some issues with going to the gym, mainly not knowing what the hell to do, I spend a good amount of time creating this somewhat ambitious 10-week workout plan. Based on the days that Andrew and I had decided to go to the gym, I selected the workouts that I would do there as well as those that I would do on the days I worked out at home. I knew I may have to adjust it; after all, I had not worked out for a couple of weeks, plus I was also incorporating a full-body circuit. I just did not know how much I had to adjust it.

First day at the gym: Left - expectation; right - reality
That is exactly what happened to me!

The full-body circuit calls for 15 reps of each exercise, and 4 rounds of the circuit. I barely made 1 round! By the time I finished, my whole body was trembling from the exertion. A change was needed immediately! Next time I went to the gym, I had adjusted the reps to 5, and I was able to do the 4 rounds. My running, on the other hand, was working out just fine. I am determined to run at least one 5K this year (I have already registered for this one and will probably register for the Carrera de Muertos) and my running routine would get me ready for that. Only on the first day was I gasping for air by the end of the workout; the next couple of days were much better.

And then, life came into play.

First of all, I had to go to Washington, DC for the annual board retreat of the National Latino AIDS Action Network, to which I was appointed late last year. I took my workout clothes thinking I would be able to sneak in a workout or two and not fall out of my routine. But you know how it is when you meet with friends and colleagues: dinner, conversations, and spending time together becomes the priority. Needless to say, my workout clothes came back unused. I did get to go to some of the monuments in DC, which I had not been able to do the last time I was there. 

At World War II Memorial, Washington, DC

In my mind I'm like "OK, OK, I will get back into the routine as soon as I set foot in Chicago." But it was not to happen because either in DC or on the plane back home a nasty bug attached itself to me and it made me so sick that I spent the next couple of days in bed, unable to do much. Fast forward 2 weeks and I am still feeling somewhat crappy, and without any energies to go back to the gym. And the longer I take to get back in track, the more difficult it gets to do it. There is always something to be done, a place to go, an errand to take care of. It just doesn't end.

In other news, I submitted my application to go back to school. I'm excited about that and look forward to the decision, although I may have waited too long to submit the application and did not consider the time it takes for all documents and references to get there. But anyway, something will happen; if not in that program, at least I have a kick-ass objectives statement that I can use for another program. And I started writing again! I wrote a short story that I shared on Facebook, and I received a lot of great feedback. It has inspired me to keep on writing and it has sparked an idea that I will be sharing later on.

And this weekend I made another change: I chopped off my hair! I have been missing my curls for a while now and after so many years of using the flat-iron, there were no curls left. So on Saturday I went to see my hairstylist and told him to cut it all off.  Here's how I look now:

Good bye, long, straight hair.
Welcome back curls!

So let me use this new fresh start to push me forward to continue on my journey. And while I may take one step forward and two backwards, the important thing is to keep on moving. I will get there, eventually.

It doesn't matter that you have to start again.
What's important is not to lose the desire to try again.