Monday, October 17, 2011

Amazon Addiction, Jillian Michaels, and new clothes!

I guess I need to set up my story first ... For those of you who don't know me, and those who don't know me as well as they think they do, I don't have a regular income right now. I'm a masters student TYRING DESPERATELY to finish up her paper and graduate at the end of this fall semester. But, even though I don't have a job (and that may soon change, though only part-time and seasonal), I do have a tiny income of sorts. I take surveys and write product reviews for companies. With most of the sites I use, the incentive isn't amazing, but your points build over time. Some let you cash out at $5, others make you wait until you reach $50 (I'm 3.75 way from my first check there!). One, and the one I get the most surveys for, lets you turn all your points into Amazon gift codes. Needless to say (if you know me), I have taken full advantage of this. I can't help but cruise Amazon for amazing deals on things I want. As soon as I build up some credit with my gift codes, I'm looking for what I want to order next. I've gotten quite a bit of stuff over the last couple years this way. Heck, it's how I got all my non-clothing running gear so far!

So, I've been thinking for a while about how I'm going to keep in decent shape this winter. I'm NOT a fan of running outside in the cold and slushy/snowy crap, but I don't want to be confined to the treadmill all winter (notice how my shin splints magically disappeared this spring once I started running outside full-time?). So, when I saw a major deal on some Jillian Michaels dvds, I jumped on it. And I got them all for free with my Amazon gift codes. I ordered "30-Day Shred", "Killer Buns & Thighs", and "No More Trouble Zones". What I didn't know until AFTER I ordered was that 30-Day Shred also came with a free digital version! So, while I haven't gotten my dvds yet (come on, now, I just ordered them yesterday and went for the free 5-8 day shipping), I pulled up the digital version this morning and went for it.

Holy Cow. Either running and lifting haven't gotten me in as good of shape as I thought or I've REALLY dropped the ball the last couple weeks. 30-Day Shred's Level 1 is only 25ish minutes of actual work, but I found myself cursing at Jillian quite a bit. lol. She. Kicked. My. Booty. The aerobic and ab stuff were great, but DANG did my arms and shoulders kill. Maybe it'll be better now that I've done it once and know what to expect. Or maybe I should have started with a smaller weight (I was using 5lbs). I haven't decided if it's going to be an every-day thing or an every-other-day thing yet. I guess we'll see how I feel tomorrow.

After 30DS, I didn't have much time for a run, but I got in 20 minutes on the treadmill just to shake my legs out. Maybe I'll give it another go tonight. It all depends on what's going on around the house.

I also made a stop over at Old Navy today since they had all their compression clothing on sale. Just about everything was $15. Now, I'm used to ON's sizes being a little funky and had myself completely ready to need a L pant, but I was actually more comfortable in a M compression pant! I'm not going to lie, I did a bit of a happy dance in the dressing room. lol. I got a pair of tights, compression capris, straight-leg running pants, a compression tank (in an awesome neon yellow color, and I don't need a sports bra with it!), and a hooded running jacket. Typical me, I bought everything but the tank in black. I'm still so self-conscious of how I look in tight clothing that I think I can hide a bit with dark colors. It's habit by now. Oh well. If I run when it's still dark, I'll just have to wear my Runner's World Reflective vest that I picked up with my gift codes last month. lol. Anyway, I can't wait to wear my new gear and check it out. I've hear rave reviews and crappy reviews, so I guess we'll see.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

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