This is a process.

Time to catch up on the past few days.  On Thursday I did another killer leg workout, followed by Muscle Fusion X.  My legs are not letting me forget them.  Even today, three days later, I am acutely aware of each and every muscle in my butt and hamstring area with each and every move I make...and actually even when I'm not moving.

Yesterday I didn't have to go to cub scout meetings in the morning, so I was able to go to the gym early enough to do my weights (chest/shoulders/triceps) before going to spin.  I even got to go with Chris, so he helped me with some of my sets, like bench press.  I went up on my weight amounts on most of my exercises, too.  It's all very exciting.  :)

Today when I woke up, I did my ab workout before going out for a run.  I knew it would be pretty cold out there, and there was still some snow on the ground but the roads were clear.  The first half of my run went along pretty well, though I just went at a comfortable pace because of the aching in my legs.  On the second half of the run, I faced a headwind that ripped through my layers of clothes like icicles.  It was not that fun, but I just tried to focus on enjoying the fact that at least I was outside running.  I ended up doing a 9.5 mile loop and I was ready to be done.  This afternoon we took the kids to the gym to swim and I just sat in the hot tub for about 40 minutes.  It felt pretty good, but my legs are still achy right now.  Good thing tomorrow is a rest day.

As I reflect over the last 5 weeks and think about the fact that I have 100% stuck with my schedule, working out an average of 2 or more hours a day, 6 days a week, doing exactly what my trainer Misty has taught me to do, I am very pleased with how things have been going.  While it's been a hard and painful journey so far, I am more motivated than ever to continue with this higher volume of strength training using weights.  I have honestly come to love spending time in the weight room, equal to my  love of spending time doing cardio activities.  I also love the changes I am seeing in my body so far.

I also have to acknowledge that my clean diet has likely contributed to the changes I'm already noticing. I have been following a clean-eating lifestyle for over 5 months now, but have been especially strict for the past 5 weeks since I first started working with a trainer and doing heavier lifting.  While I still have moments every once in a while when I feel a little frustrated that I'm not already stronger, fitter, leaner, for the most part, I have been focusing very hard on keeping the perspective that this is a process.  A process that will elicit change over a period of time.  I remember a few weeks ago I mentioned to Misty that I had taken "before" photos on the day that I started training with her and that I was excited to take "after" photos at 8-10 weeks into my new training plan.  She commented that it would be more appropriate to call them "progress" pictures because there never really is an "after", just continual changes - progress.  That makes sense to me.