Death by cardio. . .

So, it's always been my belief that Mike lays awake at night thinking of ways to torture us, and tonight I learned it to be true.

As you may know, cardio has never been my forte (along with skipping rope AND running--both cardio) especially when it comes to the treadmill, due to excruciating shin splints that always seem to kick in after the first 15 minutes. Since this discovery, Mike has made every effort to find something that I'm successful at and that gets my heart rate above 160. Well, tonight he found it. It's called a Precor (sp?), otherwise known as an elliptical machine, and while it's easy on the shins it definitely kicked my proverbial butt into super drive. Mike had me doing the "circuit" and in no time I was burnin' up. Every so often he'd say, "On a scale of 1-to-10 how much pain are you in?" And I'd always say "10", and he'd always say "good" and smile. I mentioned that he was enjoying my pain just a little too much, to which he agreed. "That's my job" as he says. And I suppose it is.

Just as an aside, and I'm putting this in print to hold him to it, he did say that if I kept my cardio up for 50 minutes tonight that he'd actually commit to renting "The Princess Bride" (an ongoing joke since the beginning of the challenge). I'm thinking that if I make it past tomorrow's elimination he'd better become the proud owner of that movie. He owes me.

Speaking of the weigh in. . .I'm not sure if the work I've done in two weeks is as substantial as the first four, but I still feel good, my pants are still fitting more loosely, and I'm still dedicated to the process. The gratitude I feel about this whole experience is immeasurable. I have been, and continue to be, truly blessed.