Amy and recently got introduced to the P90X videos and decided that it would be a good time for us to get started working out consistantly.  We were thinking, we'd both like to be in a little better shape for the wedding.  And we have about 5 months now to get there.  We also ran in a 5 mile run at Boys Town last year and I just assumed we were going to do it again, so what better time.  Additionaly, I decided that I would like to do RAGBRAI.  The whole 12 miles I did last year got me excited enough to get a bike and actually train this year, so I can get the full experience this year.  So P90X is the first step, 10K training will overlay nicely to add some cardio on week 4, then the 10K training will mesh into the RAGBRAI training which will all peak in mid July, giving me roughly 2-3 weeks to get back out of shape for the wedding and honeymoon.  I think that's a good senario though.

So once we got interested in P90X a friend of mine said he, his wife, and a bunch of friends from church had done the workout and loved it.  So he decided to get a blog started that we could all check-in on to motivate each other and share stories.  This was a great idea to me, since I need a little motivation once in a while.  I usually rely on Amy, don't get me wrong, she does a great job, but this was good for both of us.  So here's the blog we set up...  http://omahaP90Xcrew.blogspot.com   I'm going to try to share my posts between both blogs, I hope it doesn't get confusing.

So the idea of the blog isnt' really a bet or competition, although I'm sure there is a little of that going on.  The main goal is to use the sharing of others to motivate ourselves to stick with the workout, because as Tony says, "The X is for Extreme".  It is definately that sometimes.  We're going to share some of our workout habits, favorite quotes, funny stories, & then gripe about how sore we are.  Then at the end, I'm sure there will be success stories on how great we feel and proud of each other, atleast I hope so.

Here's my post from today after day 2:

So we've finished day 2 and I'm pretty sore already. It's weird my arms are sore from day 1, but I won't notice it until weird times. I've never felt sore turning off the hot & cold water at the same time on the sink before. :) My legs are a little sore, but I'm sure tomorrow, I wont' be able to walk.

I love Tony's quotes. Sometimes its hard for me to remember them, I tell myself I should write them down as soon as I hear them, but I usually forget. "Her name's Pam, they call her BLAM!" It makes me just yell "BLAM!" when they show her. There's another good one about not getting bored, but I forget it.

I was proud of myself for getting a pull-up bar installed in time for day 1. It's kinda makeshift, but it works. I'll have to get some pictures up to show our workout area. I'm interested to hear/see where everybody else is doing their workouts.

Anybody doing the official P90X diet? "What's your soup?" Amy and I are trying to eat healthy and referred to the diet, but I think you'd have to have a full time dietician to figure out all the portions if you were going to follow it strictly. I had my first bad temptation yesterday, somebody at work brought in this luscious looking pink sprinkle cake with fluffy frosting, it was so hard. I had to walk by it everywhere I went, I'm glad it's not there today.

I keep thinking of random stuff that I haven't mentioned on here, we did all of our before measurments the other day, it'll be fun to see the differences at the end.

On my mind....
I'm not very good at keeping up to date with this blogging thing. I keep telling myself that I need to be more consistent. It's gotten to the point where there's so much on my mind that I felt I should write again. It seems like I use it as more of an escape then anything else. And since I'm sure that nobody reads it, I'm not sure why it helps me, but it does.

So I headed out to Omaha and I'm doing my thing out here now. Working at a job that I really enjoy and getting acquainted with a town that I think will be really good for me in the future. Right now I still haven't gotten away from that phase where i miss parts of what I left behind at times. I'm sure the worst of it will be when March comes around. Coaching soccer was one of my most favorite things. I'm really going to miss it when spring rolls around. The other toughest thing about leaving was my family. For the people that know me very well, they've realized that I'm very close to my family. I think I've already explained how I ruined my dad's knee by having him help me move out here. He ruptured his patella tendon helping me move. He had surgery and is working his way through physical therapy. Along with all the traveling to see them and spending less time with them, this holiday season I realized how lucky and thankful I am for what I have. Sometimes people don't realize how lucky they really are until it's too late or something happens to make them realize it. This year I got to spend thanksgiving with my family and then got the chance to have 4 Christmas's. 1 with my mom's and dad's families, then 1 with Amy's mom's and dad's. Things were great, I ate a ton, I got some really cool stuff, but the most important thing was I got to spend time with everybody. That was the first time this has happened for Amy and I in the 3+ years we'd been dating. In the past families celebrated on the same day or we went to Montana 1 year. So things were great, then on Christmas day I get the worst phone call I have ever received. My sister called, not even able to speak complete words let alone sentences and told me that my dad had a heart attack. Trust me, you'll never be ready for news like that. I was more in shock than anything, I didn't know what to do. My sister was with him at the time and then drove him to the hospital. So now I'm 170 miles away from home, without a car (since I didn't drive to Amy's Dad's Christmas) and no money (which is another story altogether) and worrying for my dad's life. So I flew back to Mercy Hospital, not literally flew, but pretty close. By the time I had gotten there, he had been life flighted to Des Moines and the operation had been completed and we were able to talk to him. It was so relieving to know that he was ok. I would've driving 1,000,000 miles to spend that 30 minutes with him and know that everything was ok, even though that 150 miles, seemed like forever. My dad has spent more time in the hospital in the past few months than the first 50+ years of his life. I can't help but feel a little blame since both incidents were related to him doing stuff for me.

He was shoveling the back drive way with my sister so that I could move my appliances out of the back garage easier. They had nearly finished shoveling and he went inside to get some salt. When he didn't return for a little while my sister went to check on him and he said that he felt like he had heart burn, but probably needed to go to the hospital. My sister frantically drove him there to shortly there after find out that he needed to be life flighted to Des Moines for an operation that had to be done within 90 minutes of his first pains. Due to my sister and mom's quick response and timely treatment at the hospital on Christmas day everything was taken care of with time to spare. I use that term loosely it sounds like the extra time really made us feel better, but you know what I mean. My dad's sisters were visiting each other in California for the holidays and my cousin was able to make it to the hospital to visit and inform everyone what had happen and that he was doing ok, so we could spend more time with him. While I'm thinking about it, thank you to everyone for your prayers and concerns for us during this time. My dad had a lot of people pulling for him. It was even more sad to see all the other families in the intensive care area of the hospital on Christmas and some of which probably weren't as fortunate as we were, if fortunate is the right word.

The things that go through your mind during a time like this are unexplainable, but really makes me thankful for everything that I have and everything that the Lord has done for me. I hope my dad and family realize how much they mean to me and how much different things would be if it weren't for their influence on my life.

So in the midst of this great holiday season and health problems with my family, the other highlight is I'm buying a house. In a month's time my girlfriend and I have decided we're looking for a house, looked at houses, picked out a great house, made an offer, are closing, & then moving in. Um, yes I said a month. Since it's our first time, we are learning very fast, why it is such a big step. Everything from insurance, to inspections, to the closing process, to moving plans, to getting everyones' family approval of our decisions, we can't wait to get this over with and move in. It's been "fun", but I can't wait till it's all finalized.

Among all this, I fought a cold (I never get sick), this next week is the last, last day for some of my Maytag friends. I'm excited to see them again and wish them a happy retirement. 1 of which worked at Maytag for a little over 38 years!

So in my Rev. Run closing thought, be greatful for everything you have and don't be afraid to let the people close to you know how thankful you are. Learn from life's troubles and tribulations and make the best of them. I heard this from a football player before and NFL game this weekend, God puts just enough on your plate at all times. There's never too much, always just enough, so fight through it and learn from the process.