take me to... niketown

so you won't believe it when you read it, brace yourself, but i've let myself go. take a minute, laugh it out. i know what you are thinking, she sure doesn't look like she's gained an ounce. well i hid it well. i admit, i did all the stuff the quintessential bride-to-be does to get in shape and lose a few pounds around the waistline. who wouldn't when all eyes are on the bride? since the wedding, life has happened which doesn't leave a lot of time for working out especially in the winter. the slow decline started in march, as winter marched on and the appeal of running outside faded each night as the sun went down at 6. plus there were the boxes screaming to be unpacked at the new place and the fact that the inside temperature of my house is only a few degrees higher than the outside temperature in the winter (the house was built in the late 1800s), all i wanted to do was crawl into my cozy bed.

no big deal though, surely i could keep the extra pounds at bay by walking a few blocks here and there. and what about all those boxes i was shuffling around, weight training right? and when all my pants started to feel snug around the waist, i blamed it on the new dryer which was definitely shrinking my clothes ignoring the fact that most my work pants are dry clean only.

the wakeup call? finally stepping on a scale at goodwill... not a pretty sight. i'll spare you the details as most people know the horror of stepping on the scale after tricking yourself into thinking you weigh the same as when you were in college.

so this is week one of my turnaround "to a healthier, fitter, happier me." cheesy indeed, but it is true that i feel much better when i'm exercising. i have 2 action plans: ride my new road bike to work a few times a week and to do errands around town and sign up for a running race to motivate my running legs.

i've been wanting a road bike for over a year now, but i put it off because it was an intimidating process. i settled on a Giant OCR1w after looking at the trek women's bike and fuji. the nice guys over at arapahoe cyclery hooked me up and they offer free tune-ups for the life of the bike which is quite the deal. now i feel so fast compared to my mtn bike and i can't wait for the weather to turn warm so i can ride 20 miles to work.

tuesday i was the newbie at the niketown running club which meets weekly at 5:30. i ran the mile to get to niketown located on the 16th street mall in the denver pavilion. everyone was milling around the store, 2 out of 3 men to women who mostly were ripped or a runner's ripped anyway (read skinny no fat). a few quick announcements before we took off for rei via cherry creek bike path. everyone went their own pace and distance which is why i ended up running 4.5 miles instead of the 3 miles i planning on because i didn't know the route and just kept following anyone that looked familiar. when i got back to the store i was exhausted, but i stuck around for the free nike shoe raffle. plus they had free drinks and snacks and i got a drawstring bag for being new. two thumbs up for this free club that gives away nike gear and a group to push me on my runs. if only it was twice a week...

so there's the plan, typed out on my computer screen, my commitment to myself. progress and fallbacks to come.