Day 291: There Is No Can't

"Your biggest challenge isn't someone else. It's the ache in your lungs and the burning in your legs, and the voice inside you that yells "can't", but you don't listen. You just push harder. And then you hear the voice whisper "can". And you discover that the person you thought you were is no match for the one you really are."

This quote is perfect for today, because my lunch time workout truly challenged me. I looked at the description and said "I can't do that", then settled on something easier. Then I remembered "can't" isn't in my vocabulary and unless I tried I wouldn't know if I could do it ! So I hit the start button on workout #12 in the Grand Canyon series, which was 20 minutes at max incline (10% on my machine), with speeds ranging from 2.2 mph to 2.6 mph. I didn't think I could do it and I did have to briefly hang onto the rails 3 or 4 times, but I finished it without changing the speed or incline and without stopping to take a break. There was a lot of "can't" in the internal dialogue during that 20 minutes, but I focused on the trainer and the beautiful views and pushed through it. I've said before that incline is my biggest challenge and that hasn't changed, but I really want to complete the entire 15 workout series and that means tackling the incline. That 20 minutes of pain was worth it in the end and although I felt like I was going to die, I didn't. I proved to myself that I could do it and I think that will help push me through the last 3 workouts, which all have lots of max incline. We're climbing up out of the Grand Canyon via Bright Angel Trail. The trainer encourages everyone to visit and hike the trail in person but I don't see that happening ! I'm not happy about the fact I had to hold onto the rails but I'm proud of myself for not giving up. Pushing myself has always been a challenge so it's something I am continuing to work at.

Breakfast was a 3.6 ounce 150 calorie canadian style turkey bacon, egg & cheese muffin with maple pecan coffee. Second cup was hazelnut and my power fuel was a 5.3 ounce 80 calorie Light & Fit strawberry cheesecake yogurt. Morning snack was a 155 calorie vanilla shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a 4 ounce 210 calorie beef stir fry melt with green beans. Afternoon snack was a 5.3 ounce 80 calorie Light & Fit toasted coconut vanilla yogurt and a fresh apple, which is 95 calories. This left 430 calories for dinner and an evening snack. Dinner was a 7.5 ounce 220 calorie chicken fettuccine alfredo served over riced cauliflower. Evening snack was a 1.8 ounce 140 calorie butterscotch cake. Total calories for the day are 1130 and I slacked on water today, only getting 32 ounces in. Tomorrow is another day !

I completed #12 in the Grand Canyon series during lunch today because my iFit history indicated I completed #11 back on October 4. I honestly didn't recall completing this workout so I went back in my blog and didn't see it mentioned. Looks like I had some issues with iFit that day or I just documented the wrong workout, so who knows. Anyhow, just to be sure, #11 was my evening workout today. 20 minutes of 1 minute intervals at 3 mph followed by 1 minute intervals at 2.6, although they dropped the speed slightly while we were on max incline. There was lots of up and down incline but they saved the steady max incline for the last few minutes. Some of the conversation in this workout sounded familiar so I might have done it before, I just don't remember. Having made it through 11 & 12, the max incline in 13, 14 and 15 doesn't seem quite so intimidating. I will say I was quite fatigued after #11. Going upstairs to grab the wastepaper basket out of the bathroom (it's trash night) felt like I was scaling Everest ! But I survived and it was so nice to hop on the couch at 6:30 with the cats and myself fed, the trash at the curb and exercise done for the day ! I sat down with a cup of cinnamon roll coffee to enjoy while my evening snack was thawing. I really used to hate Mondays but I had a really good day today. I had some complicated items to handle at work (that I was avoiding!) and I was able to work through all of them, so that was a great start on the week !

It's not quite 9 pm but I'm tired and heading for a shower and bed ! There is nothing on tv so I'll probably get in a few games of Candy Crush.

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