A little bit of running

My feet have been feeling pretty good lately. I've not been wearing my splints at night and have only a little bit of pain the first few steps in the morning. I've done just a little bit of walking/running on the treadmill this last week. I can feel that my arches feel somewhat fatigued, and I have sore muscles on the outside aspect of my calf, which I've never had before. I've done one mile at the most. My cadence pace is good at about 170 steps/minute. I'm still doing other cross training, core and upper body strengthening. I checked my measurements today and I'm seeing a difference. I know my pants are fitting better!

Thigh 55 cm (-3)
Hips 96 (-6)
Waist 71 (-8)
Arm 28 (-4)

Weight 145ish down 4

It's been a while

since I posted, but not because I haven't been active. I've just not been doing anything particularly interesting on the exercise frontier. I've been making my exercise goals with the exception of last week, when I fell one day short of my think thirty goal. I'm placing the blame on the GI flu that knocked me out for 24 hours and left me dragging for another 24. (Jen says that puking didn't qualify for think thirty. I think it should, my abs hurt for days.) I actually did a bit of running on the treadmill today, barefoot. Right now my feet feel fine. We'll see how they feel tomorrow.

Did you know

that 10 stories is a long way up? About 200 steps worth? And by the time you reach the top (or bottom) you know that you've gotten a bit of exercise. I've done them once today (with a few stops along the way), and will do them at least once more. I'm thinking thirty!

Thinking Thirty

It's amazing what impact "intention" has on ones life. I've discovered that being "intentional" in my choices lends them more power in my life. I make decisions that are reasoned and purposeful, rather than random and that feels good. The Think Thirty incentive is one of these intentional decisions. I signed up for the incentive and I have the intention of completing it successfully. I have a plan each day as to how I'm going to achieve my 30 minute goal of activity. I also recognize the days that it's not feasible and am okay with that. Being intentional about exercise has turned "I hope that I can get to the gym" to "I'm going to get to the gym at this time, for this long." It is this intention that helped me be successful in running a marathon 2 years ago and will help me be successful in running another one this fall. There I said it. I'm going to run another marathon this fall. It is my intention.

Recap of the last week and plans for the rest of the week.
Friday: 12 hour clinical (lot's of walking, did stairs)
Sunday: swimming with the girls 1.5 hours
Tuesday: Wellness Center 45 minutes
Wednesday: Today, wellness center 5:30 (when the kids are at church)
Thursday: Wellness center in the am
Friday: 12 hour clinical (walk, walk, walk)

Keeping on going

Let's see, what have I done for myself lately? Doug and I took the girls swimming on Sunday. We spent about 90 minutes in the pool. I've lost my goggles, so I ordered a replacement pair so next time I can do some more serious swimming. But I did some pool running and chased after the girls, so it was good.

Monday... killer aerobics with Jen. I actually managed to do 30 knee push-ups, which is a significant improvement for me. I'm working my way to real push ups.
Tuesday... cardio kickboxing. This was a good workout, fun and interesting. The class is offered 2X/week, but I won't be able to go on Thursdays.
Wednesday... I had intended to get to Jen's aerobic class but my teaching responsibilities conspired against me. I went to an hour of yoga instead, so I still met my think 30 challenge for today.

I haven't stepped on the scale recently, but my clothes are getting looser. I'm feeling good about what I'm doing for myself to take care of my physical and emotional needs.

BTW, I've been doing all my exercise barefoot and my feet are getting better! It'll be interesting to see how they feel when I start running regularly.

News flash: you can exercise when you have a cold.

Hhhmm, did you know that? I always thought "have a cold, don't do anything physical". I took Wednesday off from exercise because any movement made my head throb. So I bowed out of Jen's aerobic class (Sorry Jen), went home and took some advil and had a nap. Thursday was better. I was singing bass, and still had to blow my nose a lot, but my head didn't hurt. I put off exercise, using the excuse that "I've got a cold" but ultimately got on the treadmill for a 30 minute walk/slow jog. (After all, I've got to make my think thirty commitment.) It didn't hurt me. In fact, I felt better when I got off. Today I'm still a bit congested and have a bit of a head ache but I'm planning on going out to shovel snow (when it stops snowing). I figure the exertion should help loosen some of the crap in my head and help me feel better. Who wants to come help me shovel?

Friends are a huge blessing.

My friend Sondra called me last night asking if I was going to go to the w.c. in the morning. I said yes, I was going to be there around 5:45. When the alarm went off this morning I wanted desperately to turn it off and go back to sleep, but I had told Sondra I'd be there. So I got up and went. I even dreamed (dreamt?) that I had stood her up and I couldn't let that happen in real life. So I spent 30 minutes on the bike and did a couple of reps of weights for my arms. 45 minutes total.

I also signed up for the Think Thirty Fitness incentive that's happening at the college. 30 minutes of activity, 5X/week. Plan it, do it. It's what got me started with regular exercise 2 years ago. Anyone else want to join me? Even if you're not local you can join in. I'll even provide some draw-prizes for non-Hesstonians.