There are 48 days until my wedding.

Today is also the first day of the 2013 USA Pro Challenge.

As I said in Vive le Tour: A Beautiful Change, cycling is a newly discovered dream that I want to pursue to push my endurance; my wedding, however, won’t only be a dream for much longer. In addition, Paige has been in the gym six days a week for the last two or three weeks to prepare for this wedding, as I slouched around on the couch and ate when I could.

So, here I am with this post.

Last week was full of a strange depression, maybe even “man”stration who knows, that made me feel like the slouch around option was the best option. Today though, I realized the Pro Challenge starting and that if I wanted to one day be taken serious, I needed to get serious about myself.

What did that mean? For once I was the first one ready for the gym. Before we left, I made a last minute decision to grab a sweatshirt to make the most out of it, and then as we started our treadmills I looked at Paige for the confirmation of 4… Wanting to know if it would be a 5k or 4-mile day. She gave me the nod, and I decided that it would be a 5-mile day for me, mainly because my pride kicked in and couldn’t let her run as far as I was going to.

Then it clicked.

We’re both working on improving our speed, since we have stupid 20 minute rules on our treadmills, and I realized that the plan could be simple as long as I was consistent like her.

The plan is this:

• 5-mile Monday
• 10k-Tuesday
• Halfway Humpday
• 10k-Thursday
• 5-mile Friday
• Suck-It-Up Saturday

Our gym is closed on Sundays, so it works out perfect as a rest day; I mean heck, even God had a rest day.

The only thing missing from the schedule is any outside training like weight lifting or toning sessions, but it doesn’t mean you can’t do them anyway. For us, Halfway Humpday is a 5k day which leaves plenty of time to get in abs and arms workouts while we’re at the gym, and we bought a kettle bell weight that we generally pick up and work with at night while we’re watching TV or just hanging out. The weight is also perfect for Suck-It-Up Saturday which is meant to be the major push of the week.

I’ll touch on it later, but that’s the key to being better. You may have found something that works for you, but if you don’t push beyond that comfort zone you’ll never reach your fitness potential. You can go farther and last longer, just stop complaining and do it.

Finally, a piece of advice I was recently given by a friend. He said to me, “Get married, that’s your first priority. Then worry about everything else.”

I may never become a professional cyclist, may never own my own business, but I am getting married, and it has to be priority number one. With that assurance, the gym will be our second home as we make sure we look good for our wedding, and the benefits that come after that, will only make the work now that much more worth while.

Take care, and keep on keeping on.
-Jeff