If I just don't bend my knees. . . . .

210.6 (ugh)

I am attributing the number on the scale this morning to major water retention from over-worked muscles. My eating has been pretty good the last few days, and obviously I am exercising much more vigorously than usual with boot camp, so that is the only reasonable explanation in my mind.

My legs are sore as he!! today. Actually, they started feeling a little sore and tight yesterday within an hour or so of finishing my boot camp workout, so I knew today would be bad. The soreness is tolerable as long as I'm sitting and have dosed myself with ibuprofen. If I walk around, it hurts. And if I bend down or climb stairs (up or down), it REALLY hurts!

I really overdid it. I'd never done as many squats--or as many different kinds of squats--as we did yesterday, and I just didn't realize how hard I was working out at the time. I like to think that my legs are really strong because my primary forms of exercise are the elliptical trainer and walking/jogging. . . . plus carrying my fat a$$ around all the time. . . but yikes.

This level of pain is in spite of stretching every other hour yesterday, getting an hour-long massage yesterday evening, and pounding down water like it's going out of style. Think how much pain I'd be in if I hadn't done those things!

Anyhoo, this, too, shall pass. As MM points out, I certainly know that I am getting my money's worth out of this boot camp. There is no doubt that I am working out harder than I would on my own or that I am working muscles that I normally wouldn't.

One of the nurses at my firm is a bit of an exercise fanatic. She is in her early 50s, with two grown children, but in fabulous shape. Normally she works out 6 days a week, either running or taking spinning classes.

Sadly, she ruptured a disk in her back several weeks ago and had to have emergency surgery. She is back at work, but has been told that she can't run or cycle for at least 6 months! The only exercise her surgeon has OK'd is walking, and that just does not get the job done for her: it doesn't raise her heart rate effectively because she's in such great cardiovascular shape.

While talking about my boot camp experience this morning, I could see in her face that she was envious of my sore muscles! She told me to "work out extra hard for both of us."

I would friggin' LOVE to be so into exercising that I would be sad if I couldn't do it! Over the years, I have certainly gotten to where I find it tolerable. . . . and I'm always glad I exercised after a workout. . . . but to have that love of exercise that would make me crave it would be a beautiful thing.

As sore as I am, I am a little scared for tomorrow's boot camp session. At the same time, in a perverse way, I am looking forward to it. MM and I are going to go to the gym this evening, too, per our usual routine. I think 25-30 minutes on the elliptical trainer or the treadmill might actually help me work out some of this soreness.

With getting up so early twice this week (and yesterday I woke up more than an hour before the alarm--at 3:50!--and couldn't go back to sleep), I am quite tired today. Even though I got a good night's sleep, apparently it wasn't enough to make up for the sleep deprivation the night before. [sigh]

Not much else going on with me. After having had several deadlines over the past month or so, I'm currently suffering from a severe lack of motivation at work. My friend L and her husband are coming to Phoenix this weekend, and we will be having dinner with them on Saturday before going to the Coyotes home opener; the tickets to the game were my birthday gift to MM (his request). We will likely go to MM's parents' house for dinner on Sunday. And I need to buy a blouse to wear for our engagement/holiday photo shoot on October 19th this weekend. Ugh--I hate to shop!!