
A week ago I set out on a 4 week mission to lose a couple pounds, tone up a bit and eat healthier so that I go into my bachelorette party weekend feeling great. I definitely know that in four weeks changes can be made (the largest part of my P90X transformation was in the first four weeks) but I also know that there are limits to the gains in that short period of time. My main goal going into the weekend is going to be how I feel about my body and I know that a solid 4 weeks of clean eating and consistent workouts will make me feel great.
As I said in my goals post for this 4 week mission, I am going to post weekly recaps of my progress. I set some lofty goals for myself but I’m happy to say I accomplished the majority of them.
Monday:
Started my week with the final class in my one-week trial of Studio Barre. It was a great way to start my Monday morning and since I had a bit of time to kill before work and the showers at the gym are better than the ones at my office (Studio Barre unfortunately has no showers), I headed to the gym for 20 minutes of spinning on the stationary bike. In order to make things interesting, I did some high intensity repeats. After a 5 minute warm-up I went into five 30 second intervals of 95% effort with 30 seconds rest. After another minute of rest I went into 4 x 1 minute intervals with a minute of rest between. Although it was only 20 minutes, I was dripping sweat by the end!
After work I joined up with my friend Vicky for the weekly Movin Shoes group run, for a total of 6 miles.
Tuesday:

Went to my first Club Pilates class at 6 a.m. The instructor told me I was hardcore for taking my first class at 6 a.m. The class was challenging and I was happy that it was more upper body and core focused than legs, which is a better compliment for my running and biking.
After work I met up with Mike for our 2nd week of Torrey Pines hill repeats. Unfortunately Asia and Jeremy couldn’t join us this time. I ran a total of 6 miles, including two times up the very steep section.
Wednesday:
My legs were toast by this morning but Mike was waking up for a workout and I knew I didn’t have much time for cycling this week, so I got on my bike for a 10 mileish ride down the coast. When I got back, Mike was just about to do Ab Ripper so I joined him for 15 minutes of abs.
After work I met up with the ActiveX crew for what I thought was going to be mostly an instructional open water swim. Turned out to be lots of swim entry and exit intervals as well as some fun hill repeats up the steep hill out of Fletcher Cove. That night when we got home I was absolutely exhausted. I would have considered ditching my scheduled Club Pilates class the next morning but they have a strict 24 hour cancellation policy (most of their classes fill up).
Thursday
Dragged myself out of bed for Club Pilates but as soon as the workout started I felt much better. The class was really awesome, even better than the first day! I really love this workout already. Thursday evening I had plans with a friend to walk her dog and have dinner so no double workout for me, thankfully. I was starting to feel like I was training for Ironman.

Friday
I had made plans earlier in the week to run with my friend Allison and then I had also scheduled my 3rd Club Pilates class of the week at 7 a.m., knowing I couldn’t make any classes over the weekend. We ran 4.3 miles together, and my legs were very heavy (surprise!). Afterward, I headed to the 7 a.m. Level 1.5 Club Pilates class which was definitely easier than the Level 2 classes I had attended previously. There was more stretching and breaks between sets, but it was still a good workout and tons of core! We also got pick our own heavy weights for the arm portion so I got a good arm workout in.
Saturday

Saturday morning after 9 glorious hours of sleep we met up with ActiveX again for the group workout. This time it was about 1.5 hours of open water swim drills, most of which involved running into the water, duck diving, swimming out past the break, swimming in. We practiced right hand buoy turns and body surfing waves too. If there is a big swell on race day this will definitely help! The Solana Beach triathlon swim is very short and most of it involves entering and exiting the water. Knowing how to navigate potentially large crashing waves can make a huge difference.
After a small snack, Mike and I went out for a 7.3 mile run complete with plenty of rolling hills, from Solana Beach to Del Mar. It was warm and humid but overcast and my legs actually felt pretty good on this run! Our pace was actually decent and I finished strong.
In the afternoon I took a 3 hour nap – I was tired from a long week!!!
Sunday

Lots of walking as we watched our friend Stephen at the San Diego International Tri and scoured the mall for a wedding band for Mike (didn’t buy one yet) but no official workouts. Rest and ANOTHER nap!
Weekly Totals:
- 4 Strength Training: 1 Studio Barre & 3 Club Pilates
- 2 Swims
- 2 Bike Rides (although both very short)
- 4 Runs (total of 24 miles)
- Total Time: 11 hours
Nutrition

My nutrition was great this week. It started out really really strong, and as it always tends to, got a little more lax toward the end of the week, but still was really clean. I had absolutely no alcohol all week, but I did eat dessert 3 times (was trying to only have it once!). I usually eat dessert every day (often twice!) so this was an improvement. Two of the three desserts were almond milk icecream and one was a small slice of birthday cake at work from my favorite bakery. I ate a ton of veggies and fruits this week and even on the weekend ate mostly clean, besides some chips and guacamole and a little cheese on my veggie sandwich at a restaurant. All things considered it was a good week. I’m feeling better already!
What tools do you use to keep yourself accountable for your goals?
Lol- I was going to say it’s like you’re training for another Ironman but you beat me to it!
Very impressive week. Those ActiveX workouts sound intense but fun!
Wow girl- what an impressive week! Looks like you are on the path to Bachelorette party perfection! 🙂 Just looking at your week has me feeling motivated!
Awesome week! I wish I could fit all that exercise in, alas I’m chasing around 2 kids under the age of 5 so I’m don’t have as much freedom but I really enjoyed reading about your workouts- I need to get back into pilates! Thanks for the encouragament.