Merry Christmas

It is so hard to believe that the holidays are here. Last year at this time I had all my shopping and house cleaning taken care of. It is a very different story this year. December has flown by. It's all good. After Friday it will be time to start thinking about next Christmas.

I have so much to be thankful for this year. My oldest son graduated this month with his master's degree. My second son is going to start college in January after a very rocky couple of years of self-destructive behaviors. My daughter is growing into a beautiful young lady with aspirations for her future. My daughter-in-law is on her way to fulfilling her dream of becoming an early childhood educator. She will graduate in May.

In spite of my lack of exercise and the weight that I have gained this year, I have managed to stay healthy. I am looking forward to 2009 and getting back into shape. I have a beach vacation planned in May. My husband and I are going to vacation with my sisters and their families and I don't want to be the fat one. With that to keep me motivated I know I can do it!

Happy Holidays!

Not Just Yet.

The medication the doctor gave me for my arthritic toe is helping. I haven't yet put on the running shoe and hit the road. I feel like I need to wait a couple of days for that. I have been riding my recumbent bike. I rode for 30 minutes yesterday and got up at 5:30 this morning and rode for forty. Yesterday I did 8 miles and today I did 11.5. I'll probably try to get on it again tonight. I have really been watching my caloric intake. I have been feeling a little lethargic and I know that it is must my body adjusting to fewer carbs and sugars. I haven't completely cut anything out of my diet. I am just watching it. I can't help but think that if I drop a few pounds that my feet will thank me and I will feel more confident about myself.

I'll get there. It may take more time than I would hope for but I'd rather get there healthy and uninjured.

Can you say OUCH!?

That is what I have been saying for the past week and a half. I have had problems with bunions on my big toes off and on for several years but lately my left toe has been hurting pretty much constantly. I went to the doc today, I almost talked myself out of it because it seems so stupid to have toe pain. Anyway, I have a bone spur on my toe and have developed a bit of athritis. OUCH! He prescribed some anti-inflamortory medication and I hope that it will work. I just took my first pill a few minutes ago so we shall see. I almost cried when I saw my weight. I have really got to get this under control with some serious exercise. Women in my family (my dad's side) tend to "puff up" after they hit 40. I don't want to be a fluffy grandmother so I need to get to work before grandkids come along.

If this medicine is helpful I'll be back on the road tomorrow.

See you then!

What the Heck?!

That's what my legs were saying this morning after only .66 miles. "You mean to tell us that you have been sitting on that big rear end of yours all summer and NOW you expect us to carry you while you attempt to get rid of some of it? NO WAY! We quit!" Then they did. I have never had shin splits that bad before. It seemed like the pain went all the way up my leg. I wasn't sure that I could even walk home. I was determined to get at leas 1.5 miles one way or the other. I tried running a couple of more times but there was no way. It is so strange that one day can feel so good and the next be so terrible. I guess maybe I am expecting too much too soon. I'll keep trying though. I think that I am going to go ride the bike for a little bit and burn a few more calories. That might help stretch the muscles in my calves out a little bit.

I'll hit the road again tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be nice all week. I'll just try to pace myself and give myself permission to gradually build back up my distance. I didn't get out of shape overnight and I won't get back in shape quickly either.

One Mile At A Time

I told myself last night that this morning I would get up and run before it got too hot. I guess that is why I woke up at 5:30 this morning and could not go back to sleep. Anyone that knows me very well knows that I don't wake up that early unless I really have to. My legs were still sore from my run on Thursday night. I took both as a sign to get my rear end out of bed and get on the road. It was about 7:00 before I was out the door.

There was a breeze blowing and it felt nice out. I walked about a quarter mile and then took off. I felt good, my pace was comfortable, my breathing steady and there was very little traffic on the road at that time of day. My plan was to run a half mile then walk a minute or so and run another half. I only wanted 3 miles total today. I was feeling so good this morning that when my Garmin showed I was at a half I decided that I could probably do a whole mile without stopping; and I did! To folks who run regularly that seems like a small feat. I haven't run or really done much exercising all summer; so to m it was an true accomplishment. I walked about two minutes then began running again. I got about a half mile before stopping again. I ran and walked 1.66 miles then turned around and started running back. I decided that I would do 3.5 miles today since I had gone out more than 1.5 before turning around. Again, I ran more than I walked. When I got to my neighborhood I looked at my Garmin and I had 3.45. Then I decided to do 4 miles. I took off around another subdivision near mine. By the time I got home I had 4.01 miles in 54 minutes. Again, to a person who has been running awhile that seems really slow. To me it felt great! It took me 44 minutes to do 2 miles on Wednesday. So, I am improving already.

Tomorrow if hurricane Ivan isn't taking his wrath out on Arkansas I will run again. I'll shoot for 4 again and try to improve my time. If Ivan rears his head then I guess I'll hit the recumbent bike for an hour or so.

I have to go and get my 15 year old princess out of bed. She has an appointment to get her hair done. More running to do, only a different kind! Just as rewarding!

Slowly but surely

I've been gone for awhile. I started writing here when I began a women's running clinic last February. The important word there was "started". I didn't finish which is not like me at all. I have prided myself over the years in finishing everything that I start. Not this time.

I got involved with a project at work that required working late hours and as a result I had to miss several clinics and couldn't get my workout in between times. So, I dropped out. I tried running some afterward but just didn't have the motivation and it always felt like work.

My motivation for getting back on the road was this, I tried on a dress that used to fit loosely and couldn't get it zipped up!! Time to do something different. I had already started watching my calorie intake and am trying to eat healthier but at 44 years old that alone no longer works.

So, last night I put on the shoes and hit the road. I wanted to start slow and gave myself permission not to be too hard on myself for being a slacker for all these months. I did 2.20 miles and ran probably a little more than half of that. Better to do that than nothing at all.....right!?

My goal is to reach for at least two miles a night and increasing the distance that I run each time. Tonight I will push for more than half a mile, we will see how that goes.

I am excited to be back!