Enter Vitamin I

OK, the time has come. Yesterday I took my first Vitamin I (aka Ibuprofen). During the Arms & Shoulders workout, doing a move I've done a zillion times (figures), I tweaked something in my back. Of course it's upper back and almost dead center, so I can't reach it. So I tried to get the kink out - I hung on the pullup bar, I stretched every which way I could think of, I made Chad crack my back, I get my coworkers to drill their knuckles into the tight spot, etc etc. Finally I came home from work yesterday and went for the Vitamin I. I've had a few since then, plus Mike puts sports gel on it for me, and it's getting better. Then this afternoon Mike was trying to massage it out and I actually heard some audible popping noises - which really freaked me out by the way - and then everything felt better for a sec, and then it got tender again. Why? Did he fix it, and now it's just sore? Or did he make it worse? I don't know, just hand me the freaking pill bottle. I would like to note that I am only taking 1 at a time, no more than a few per day. So that leaves me plenty of room to upgrade to a heavier dosage if (when) I really hurt myself.

I also have a bum foot which I'm dealing with daily. What happened, you ask? Well, I decided to go for a run on New Years Eve because I like to run before I go to parties where I will inevitably gorge myself on food and spirits and merry making. It had been awhile since I'd been running, and my shoes were 2 years old, and I ran too far, almost 4 miles. This may seem like nothing to some of you (Michelle), but it's like a really long way for me. Anyhoo, I got up the next day for New Years Day football, and my foot hurt like a sonuva...gun. Since then I've been to a couple "good feet" stores and even a bonafide podiatrist, and it turns out my arches are hella high (yes, knew that) and my old shoes weren't supportive enough (doh!) so now my plantar fascia (sp?) tendon is damaged. It flares up sometimes after p90x, but it's not like I've had to get out the Vitamin I for that yet. Plus there's a guy on the Plyometrics (Jump Training) video with a prosthetic leg, so I feel kinda like an ass complaining about my annoying little foot injury if he can jump around on a fake leg.

Pain means progress, right? Sha! Getting old sucks!! But! Lucky for me, I hurt my back yesterday and then today was Yoga. Last week I hated Yoga, but today it was alright. First of all, now I know what Warrior I and Warrior II and Reverse Warrior and Warrior III and a bunch of other poses mean, so I wasn't completely lost. (Warrior III is hard as H, by the way). It just felt good to stretch. Yoga is 90 minutes long and it's a doozy, but I think it will keep growing on me, and I can't wait to be flexy. I freakin' better be flexy before this is over with!!

I am constantly tempted by food. If Chad's Grandma is the devil, then Mom DeVries is her apprentice. We told Mom DV we're on a diet, and we can have meat and veggies and no carbs, which is a little generalized but whatever. We got there for Sunday dinner, and we ate filet mignons (delish), asparagus drizzled with oil, carrots, salad, and a whipped topping dessert made with cool whip, oranges, and cottage cheese. No bread, no potatoes. Mom said "cool whip is nothing" and we pretended she's right and ate it, but we knew deep down that cool whip is all carbs and we were totally cheating! Actually, the meal would've been OK, even in the realm of what's allowed for p90x, except for something I call the "grazing gene", which Mike and I both possess, and which smashes "portion control" into the dirt! I love Mom DV and she always takes care of us, and she & I have since talked about how next time we'll go "buffet style". The plan is that if Mike or I dare to get up for seconds, everyone has full license to give us all kinds of crap and call us fat. It's foolproof!

Speaking of temptation, I also want you to know that I actually made fudge, two 9x13 pans of fudge, for the GEMS Mother Daughter Night. I didn't eat any of it. I sat there while the people around me ate it, and I said no. Like most females, saying no to chocolate is a big deal for me! I have my own little cheats thought - like when I get coffee, which is pretty much every day, I use half-n-half. And real sugar. I figure if I'm dieting and working out 6 days a week, I'm not going to fail at this because of coffee creamer. At least I hope not.

Only 10 hours til our next workout! - Laura