It turns out that Icy Hot is my favorite

I should start right off the bat by saying that Jack seems like he is feeling a lot better. He is still stuffy and we are treating his first ear infection (which was minor and probably just a result of the congestion), but overall he is acting like he feels good.

and now...

Are the Olympics keeping you up as late as they are keeping me up? I have really been enjoying them but man, I will be glad to get back to sleep on a regular schedule. 

I remember always liking the Olympics. I used to record them in the days of VHS and watch them when I would get home from school or work. I guess I could DVR them now but I don't have any other time to watch them so instead I just stay up way too late watching them live. This year has been so much fun to watch because of the Michael Phelps hype. I think I am more impressed that he actually did it given all the expectations the press put on him. Usually people succumb to the pressure in situations like this and end up falling short. I say good for him for all of his success.

And have you seen Dara Torres? That woman is so awesome. 41. A mom. The first mom to win an Olympic medal for swimming. And she was soooo close to the gold. What an inspiration.

All this leads me into my feelings on boot camp. Oh, boot camp. I have had 3 classes and so far I haven't thrown up, which is my own little victory. 

The first class sucked. It was so hard. I am not a runner. I walk on the treadmill at the gym at a good pace but I almost never run. And when I do run, it is only for a minute or two. (I know, how very fit of me!) So when we starting running (!) on day 1 of boot camp I was a little concerned. I was hoping we would build up to that. Apparently the running was the warm up. It was at this point that I started to get scared. If running was the warm up, I was definitely in trouble. And there is a big hill at the park where the boot camp is held so I kept eyeing that hill and wondering if there was any possible way that the instructor failed to notice it. 

There wasn't. He did.

So with 25 minutes left to go in the first class he had us racing up the hill. Dammit. I had to race Ken, a guy who had already gone through the boot camp once before--in July--so he was pretty fresh on all of this. I heard a girl at the back of the line say, "I can't believe I paid for this bullshit!" which made me think that she was reading my mind.

So far the hardest thing for me to do is sit-ups and anything related to tummy exercises. Our instructor makes us do this form of ancient torture where you put your feet up in the air 6 inches...then 12 inches...then 18 inches...then 2 feet....then 3 feet...and then you die. I can't even really keep my feet straight when I am lifting them up in the air. And this makes me sad because I know that I used to be able to do this. Pre-babies. I think it is possible that just maybe those two abdominal surgeries I had in July of 06 and March of this year may have something to do with the challenges I am facing when it comes to these particular exercises. Oh the things we do for our kids. :-)

Apparently the Presidential Fitness Award that I won in high school is not a lifetime award. 

But after class when I am driving home having not given up (or thrown up!), I feel pretty good that at least I am out there. It's a start. And in 7 months from today when Jack turns 1 I think I will be in much better shape, which is the ultimate gold medal for me. The goal is to be more fit and energetic. Losing weight is key also. So going to this boot camp and suffering through the 100 degree afternoon heat will all be worth it. I'm just not sure all that ice cream I ate to get in this shape was.