I don’t know if it was food poisoning or a 24 hour bug, but after completing my Level 3 shred on Day 23, I went downhill quickly.  Decided to give myself a break and take it easy for the rest of the day.  I took a hot tea tree oil and epsom salt bath, then headed to bed to sleep it off.  Felt so much better by Friday afternoon!  Ended up skipping the Day 24 shred entirely though.  Didn’t want to chance it.

Glad I waited, because I was able to make up for it on Day 25 – I did Level 3 twice!  My poor legs and shoulders were not happy with me.  Kept it to a single shred today on Day 26.  Also remembered to switch starting legs on the plank so I wouldn’t hold on the same size two days in a row.   Wonder if that was an editing error on the DVD…or maybe Jillian just wanted to keep us on our toes.   I still want to do Levels 1-3 on the final day of the challenge.  1 hour of working out like a fitness machine!  Gulp.

Final week starts tomorrow…wheeeeeee!

Thought that laying this rock solid foundation meant I was completely ready for Level 3 on Day 22.  Was completely wrong!  Jillian says it at the beginning of the workout.  Ali also reminded me (oh yes, thankful I wore the industrial strength sports bra).   Level 3 really is harder than the previous levels.   And I started with the 3 lbs but SURPRISE!  You don’t even pick up the hand weights until the second circuit.  Jillian turns the knife with a smile from the very first pushup move.  I was all Anita, all the time except for the forearm to full pushups, mountain climbers and jack-knife jumps.

I’ll need my sleep tonight to be ready for Day 23!  Carry on, Team Shred.

I hauled out the 8 lbs weights for Day 19.  In theory, smashing!  In practice, silly!  My arms were sore for the entire day.   I had to switch down to the 5 lbs for the second set of each strength exercise.

Kept the insanity going on Day 20 by using the 8 lbs again!  Still couldn’t do more than the first set with them, but oh well.  Maybe I can pop out a few 8 lbs reps on the second strength exercises tomorrow.  Next short-term goal:  Level 3 by Day 22, plus cardio on the back end of each workout.

FYI – Jillian’s working on her latest DVDs – kettlebells and yoga shred – and she tweeted that even she’s having trouble keeping up with her own workout during the taping.   Will it make me swear at her less next year when I’m doing these workouts?  Probably not.  But I will laugh a little, knowing it’s just as hard for her as it is for me!

Whenever I have to ice an injury, I remember sitting in the trainer’s office before high school track practice each day.  I had my own stash of frozen Dixie cups in his freezer and every day, I’d ice my shins before heading out to run.  Didn’t care about the pain, I just wanted to be flying down that last 100 yard stretch.

These days, I still love the exercise euphoria, but I’ve traded in the Dixie cups for a Little Miss Sunshine gel ice pack.  And unlike my track days, if I feel pain, I do something light or skip my workout.  I heal quicker that way and can get right back into the routine.  So even after icing with Little Miss Sunshine on Thursday night, I knew I might have to do another modified shred on Day 17.   Not the end of the world.

As luck would have it, the lump went down considerably and I was able to do the full Level 2 on both Day 17 and Day 18.    The knee still looks ridiculous, but it’s pain-free.  I actually felt really good today.   Even considering day a few more days of Level 2, with a bump up to 8 lbs on the first strength set in each circuit.  Then I can start Level 3 next week with 3 lbs and it’ll seem much easier.  HA!  I know what’s coming, thanks to the “Ultimate Shredder.”  Weighted jumping jacks and weighted butt kickers.  JOY!

I reserve a special place in my heart for Washington, D.C.

I discovered the city as a high school junior when a friend enrolled at Catholic University.  Fell head over heels for one of my friend’s college buddies.   An older man!  (Okay, 4 years.  Just old enough to make Mom nervous.)  Walked around the Memorials, hand in hand.    After that fizzled out, I returned to D.C.  the next year as part of a Young Leaders Conference.  Met a girl from Michigan on that trip.  We ended up meeting again as randomly paired college roommates.    I spent a college semester there, working as an intern for the Senate, writing my thesis and house-sitting for a couple whom I still consider part of my family almost 18 years later.   I always thought I’d end up living there again.  Lots of personal history.   And now I can add one more fond memory – it was the site of my favorite BL elimination to date!

IN THE ELIMINATION ROOM

After Black sends Abby home, Alison invites the Blue Team to join the rest of the players.   Alison reminds them that America looks to them for inspiration.  They’re losing the weight.  All over the country, Americans are fighting the same battle against obesity.  The statistics are staggering.  Alison gives the teams a new mission:  help Americans lose those pounds.  And the best place to make it happen:  the nation’s capital!

TRAVEL

The last time they flew, no one could buckle their seatbelts without the extender. What a difference 8 weeks makes!  Black and Blue board their JetBlue flight to D.C. and settle themselves into their seats. No spillover, no discomfort, no embarrassment, plenty of room to stretch out!

Alison, a vision in another “Mad Men” inspired outfit, greets them at the Jefferson Memorial. Shay cannot believe she’s right down the street from the President. Everyone’s excited to play a role in helping Americans lead healthier lives. Who better to assist them? Bob and Jillian, of course! Both trainers marvel at how far the show has come in just eight seasons – it’s not a normal reality show. And when Alison tells the group they’ll be going to the White House, Bob nails it: if that doesn’t say that the show has had an impact on America, he doesn’t know what does.

As Jefferson was a proponent of individual rights, meeting at the memorial has special significance. The game is going back to singles! Each man or woman stands on his or her own, in his or her previous color shirt. The players are delighted to hear Alison say this, especially Daniel whose lower than expected weight loss has hampered the Black Team.

POP CHALLENGE

If you want to affect change on a national level, you need grassroots support to promote your cause. This becomes the cornerstone of the day’s Pop Challenge. Alison announces that in a few hours, Bob and Jillian will hold a public workout in front of the Washington monument. Each player has 60 minutes to get the most people assembled in front of the monument, ready to workout. The winner will get a huge advantage at the next challenge, but of course Alison keeps mum. She does reveal that the winner will also get to take his or her entire team to Subway for a post-workout dinner.

The contestants scurry and start working the streets around the National Mall. They start selling like crazy to corral as many people as possible. Color-coded stickers in hand, Danny tells a group that he’s proof The Biggest Loser works. He’s lost all this weight in 7 weeks. Amanda discovers her unique selling proposition: people start recognizing her from last season’s finale. She’s racking up the votes. Allen’s not messing around. He heads to the nearest fire station and issues a 911.

Oh Lord, Liz says as she approaches a group and they start chanting “Amanda, Amanda!” She searches for people who aren’t wearing pink stickers and finds some young boys. She bribes them with promises of cute younger female contestants, telling the camera, “I left cute behind 30 years ago. I’m relying on guilt and charm!” Shay and Rebecca try staking out their individual turf, as Rudy and the others taunt them with their growing numbers.

Getting the people turns out to be easier than keeping them. Talk about a political schooling! The D.C. tourists and residents turn out to be a fickle bunch. When Amanda’s groupies see Daniel, they have an immediate change of heart and start hooting, “Daniel, Daniel!” Rudy crosses party lines by slapping a Blue sticker on Daniel’s back. But Daniel refuses to move to the middle.

Time’s up! The fire trucks start rolling into the monument site as the teams assemble – it really looks like the Brotherhood will lock this up for Allen. Ali introduces the contestants and says that it came down to one vote separating the top two finalists, Allen and Liz. And Liz wins! Yes, you definitely go girl.

It was awesome to see the crowd start working out. Bob grabs the headset and starts leading the crowd. He is pumped, it’s what he loves about his job…the ability to help people. Jillian’s also pretty happy, strolling through the crowd, picking on total strangers. Poor tangerine-suited woman tells Jillian she can’t and everyone else ends up doing 20 extra squats because of it. Tangerine gets in line pretty quickly after that! As the winner, Liz gets to take her team and Jillian to dinner at Subway. Jillian instructs them to order off the 9 gram menu, pick lean protein and load up on the veggies.

NEXT DAY

The Biggest Loser storms Capitol Hill! The trainers and players lobby two members of Congress on obesity issues and how they affect children specifically. The contestants all tear up a little talking about their own experiences. Jillian makes an empassioned plea for Congress to pay more attention to what’s in the food supply. Our bodies don’t recognize this Franken-food! The general consensus: reps need to hear the people on these issues.

CHALLENGE

Alison meets the team at Constitution Gardens and announces a 4 station challenge. Winner gets immunity! Liz’s advantage is that she can choose not to compete in a certain section. As every politician knows, you’ve got to run hard to make it to D.C. The first part is a one mile run around the Constitution Gardens. The first six finishers will go onto the second station and Liz decides to participate.

Tracey freezes when she hears Alison say “one mile run.” Amazing to see how much goodwill surrounded her during flashbacks to the first week…and how she squandered it over the next 6. But she’s game. Allen and Rebecca take an early lead, Shay and Tracey bring up the rear. Shay says the difference this time is that it’s a matter of when, not if she completes the race. The top six are Rebecca, Daniel, Allen, Amanda, Rudy and Liz. Tracey ends up finishing the race ahead of Shay, happy to have conquered the distance.

Fundraising time! Probably the worst part of being a politician. 17,954 pennies cover the steps of the Watergate Hotel. The amount of pennies equals the amount of pounds lost to date on the show. Each player has to scoop enough pennies to fill their tube. First four move on. Liz decides to sit this one out. I would have done the same thing! Rudy and Daniel secure the next two spots, with Rebecca beating Allen for the final position.

TRAINER TIP

Bob says that everyone asks how to handle workouts during vacations. With a flight of stairs and a little creativity, you can stay on track. Walk or run the stairs for 20-30 minutes for cardio. Then finish with chair dips, side squats and pushups on the stairs.

After another impromptu happy dance from Rebecca, the competitors move to the next station in front of Capitol Hill. Getting things done in Congress requires a certain amount of balance. The players have to stand on a pedestal, balancing on a narrow ledge as they hold a Pilates ball over their heads. What?! This one’s over pretty quickly. Daniel folds almost immediately, Rudy worries about his big feet but manages to beat out Liz before falling off. So it’s Rebecca and Rudy at the top of the ballots!

Or maybe just in front of the White House. They’ll have to take 206 steps, the amount of contestants in the show’s history. All the cable networks would have called this pretty quickly. Rebecca opens up a 30 step lead and never looks back. She’s an immunity-winning monster machine.

In the first open rebellion to excessive product placment, Twitter nation contemplates a Gumcott as Bob has a heart-to-heart with Amanda. (I think he wants to squeeze her as much as he wants to squeeze the Obamas.) If she wants to stay in the game, she has to focus on healthy snacks, like Extra gum. Sigh.

WHITE HOUSE TIME

The group gets to meet the White House personal chef, who takes them on a tour of the First Lady’s organic vegetable garden. They pick the produce for their lunch and then trot off to the White House kitchen to prepare their salads. Bob is very impressed to learn that the Obamas eat healthy every day. If it’s good enough for the President, it’s good enough for the country. I’m sure at this point, Secret Service was keeping a very close eye on Mr. Harper. You know he’d be leaping across the counter to squeeze those Obama kids! Jillian, slightly less huggy, admires the standard being set by the 1st Family.

LAST CHANCE WORKOUT

Back to singles means back to joint training. Torture, sings Jillian! Especially for Tracey. She’s been dying to beat the gameplay out that girl. Jillian barely gets a sumo squat out of her before Tracey turns on the waterworks. Don’t fall for it Jillian! Everyone else is happy to be back on track, especially Amanda who is getting her groove back with Bob.

WEIGH-IN

A spectacular site as the scale sits underneath the Lincoln memorial. The usual amount of panic sets in, but as Danny says, no one knows what a week away from the ranch will mean. Shay is set on getting below 400. Daniel hasn’t lost much in the last two weeks, so he’s hoping for big numbers. And Amanda wants to see results from her renewed Bob connection.

Results are:

• Rebecca – 4   Immunity
• Shay – 9  Bye bye 400!
• Tracey -  3  Jillian didn’t make a dent.
• Daniel – 11  Just 7 short of 200 lbs lost since last season!
• Allen – 9
• Danny – 12
• Rudy – 9
• Liz -  3  Needed 4 to stay above yellow line.
• Amanda – 7  All that “extra” attention from Bob!

ELIMINATION

It’s Liz v. Tracey!  Mentally kicking Liz, who better be kicking her own ass for not taking it Tracey when she had the chance.   I mistakenly cue the Rocky song, thinking they’ll go a few rounds in a last ditch effort to keep themselves safe.   Liz doesn’t fight at all.  AGAIN, just like she failed to stand up for herself a few weeks back.  And Shay points this out, noting that her vote will never be based on strategy.  Now I want to do the punching.  Room starts to get hazy and I’m having trouble tweeting.  Alison isn’t helping me with her repeated banana hands tweets.    Can’t breathe.  Tracey may pull this out again!!!

Luckily, it’s pretty cut and dried.   Shay casts the lone vote against Liz; Amanda, Danny, Daniel and Rebecca give the four needed to cut Tracey loose!

HOW THE ELIMINATED PLAYER LOOKS NOW

24 hours later, Tracey departs for home…in a helicopter just like the one she needed the first day on the ranch.  Her family is delighted to see her and even cheer her on when she returns to Malibu for another go at the “Miracle Mile.”    Safe to say Tracey inspired a lot of people across America, maybe not in the usual way other players have.  Ultimately, she fought hard to stay, she played the game and the choices came back to bite her.  She says she’s a new person, a happier person.  Definitely a leaner person as we saw on Leno. I  believe her.   But that doesn’t mean I have to like her!

NEXT WEEK

Nervous squabbling, treadmill user error (Rudy!) and heated outbursts as players learn two will be eliminated!

All Biggest Loser related kidding aside, I’m definitely noticing new definition in my body.  My legs are definitely tighter and my abs are firming up too.  However, I’m feeling the biggest change in my arms.  All those shoulder, biceps, pushups and plank moves have been worth it!   And we’re only halfway!  Can’t wait to see more changes by Day 30.

Slow start to Day 14, because I definitely didn’t eat enough for breakfast.  I knew it the minute I started the first cardio circuit and felt a bit more winded than yesterday.   Need a post-it reminder stuck to my glasses, so it’s the first thing I see in the morning.  Held the same ratio of Natalie to Anita moves as yesterday.  Goal is all Natalie moves, all the time for Day 15.  Need to get in that groove or else I won’t feel confident moving on to Level 3.

Excited to see a kick-butt Last Chance Workout on the National Mall tonight during The Biggest Loser!   And speaking of…just pre-ordered thisand thisfrom Amazon.  Very excited!

Much better shred results on Day 13. By the end of Workout 2, I sounded like a seal making loud honking wheezy noises.  But I felt like I had just done boot camp – in a good way.   Today I began to do more of the Natalie moves and less of the modified Anita versions.    The cardio segment in the third circuit is my biggest challenge, so I hope to conquer those moves Natalie-style before I contemplate moving on to Workout 3.  Perhaps by the end of the week?  We’ll see.

Big day tomorrow!  Day 14, plus a new episode of The Biggest Loser!  Here’s Jillian Michaels as she’s about to start a workout in front of the Washington monument.

I hopped on the bike for 15 minutes post-workout and did the hill interval program.  A little more than I tacked on yesterday, but since I’m treating myself to a few bite-size pieces of candy tonight, I wanted a little extra caloric “insurance.”  Now the biggest decision of the day.  Milky Way and Snickers?  Twix and 3 Musketeers?  M&Ms and Reese’s Pieces?   Who knows – I’ll surprise myself.

Day 12 on Sunday!  Most of us will get to sleep in another hour tomorrow with the Daylight Saving Time change.  Enjoy that extra 60 minutes of zzzzzzz!

P.S. Best costume of the day right here.

That said (one of my favorite Jillian phrases), 1/3 down on the 30 Day Shred Challenge!  Tripped over a stray dumbbell early in the workout and thought that was going to be it for Day 10.   But I salvaged my dignity, picked myself up off the floor and made it through!

Form was much better today and no 5 second dropouts (or dropdowns, since they’re usually during the plank twists and squat thrusts).  I added a 15 minute stationary bike ride at the end to boost the cardio.  Not sure how much of a benefit it actually was though, since I was going pretty slowly.   Energy perked right up again after my post-workout snack of a few Kashi crackers and Smuckers All Natural Peanut Butter.   Excited to try it again tomorrow, hoping for limited breaks in the cardio section.

Day 11, baby.  DAY 11!!!