Fitness Goals

Yep, we’re those people now. We have a gym membership. Technically, only Jeff has the membership, but we got it on a sweet deal that includes 1 permanent guest pass. That means Jeff can take any one person with him for free an unlimited number of times. 2 for the price of 1! This also means that Jeff can play racquetball with anyone who’s willing—something he’s wanted to do for a long time. And it’s month-to-month so if we don’t end up using it enough to get our monies worth: no contract, no problem.

It’s always good to write down goals so I thought I’d do it in a public forum for more accountability.

• Get at least 90 minutes/week of aerobic exercise, working up to 120 minutes/week.
• Drop at least 5 pounds, maybe 10 (back to what I weighed in college).
• Work on toning varies muscle groups. (I’m not sure how to measure this goal other than what I see in the mirror.)
• Be fit enough to run a 5k at an 11-minute mile pace.
• And, just for fun, beat Jeff at a game of racquetball.

That last one might take me awhile.

We’ve only been going a couple weeks, but it already feels good to be working out regularly again.

In the spirit of our renewed commitment to exercise, we each got fitted with new shoes and we’re both super happy with what we got. I’ve always gotten Adidas running/training shoes since my first pair for junior high track. They’ve been fine, but I’ve had it in the back of my mind that I probably need a better fit/brand. In college I had some foot pain while training for soccer, and the trainers told me I overpronate and gave me inserts. Also, I have slightly narrow feet and oddly shaped heels (Jeff calls them faun feet). Well, I have found the shoes for me!

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10

Never before has a running shoe felt this good. Arch support! Perfect width! Snug toe box! The guy who was working with me said that soccer players like snug fitting running shoes and I think he’s right. I tried on lots of different shoes, but these were the first and the best. (This is probably boring you, dear reader, but I am really excited about these shoes!)

Jeff had a similarly great experience and found out that double wide (2E) give him the room he needs. He got a nice pair of New Balance that provide the stability for racquetball and tennis that were lacking in his last pair of running shoes. For any Cincinnati locals, Bob Roncker’s Running Spot really lives up to their reputation. And neither pair were was super expensive (for a high quality running shoe, anyway).

Note from Jeff: I thought the sentence “And neither pair were super expensive…” didn’t sound right, so I made Sarah go look up the grammar. It turns out that when the word “neither” is used as the subject of a sentence, it always takes a singular verb. So the correct usage is “And neither pair was super expensive…” Yes, I know I’ve embarrassed myself now.