As a newbie fitness person, I think I learn something new every day. It seems there is definitely an optimum time of day for me to get out there and move. The 7:00 to 8:00 am window seems to be the best. Today Jim and I started out at around 8:45 and it kind of messed with our stomachs. We were famished by the time we got back and it made us both a little queasy for the rest of the day. I want to make every exercise experience as positive as possible so I think I'll try to stick to that early morning time.

I'm supposed to start the walk 5 minutes , run 5, repeat, repeat thing this week. I've got to admit that I'm, well, scared. Scared that I won't be able to actually run for 5 minutes. Scared that my aged knees won't be able to take it. Scared that I'm a wimp. Scared that I'll hate it. I guess I just need to try it and see. This whole fitness thing is most assuredly as much mental as it is physical. Tomorrow I'll probably fill you in on one of the more memorable stories from the book and what it did for me.

For now, I best go clean my kitchen or get raking in the garden.

Encouraging Progress

This morning I got up at a decent hour, threw my shoes on and forced myself out the door. That, in itself, is progress seeing that it's Saturday. I drove down to my walk's starting point in the grocery store parking lot, donned my dufus gloves and started walking.....fast. I kept the pace up and mixed a bit of running into the first mile and a half. I changed the route up a little bit on the way back and arrived back at my car three or four minutes past when I had planned to be there. I was already a little discouraged because I had started to question if the route I had taken was actually a whole 3 miles. I had to find out.

I jumped in my vehicle (I use that term loosely), reset the trip odometer, and retraced my path. It wasn't 3 miles..........................It was almost 3.5!!!! Yeah, baby! I can't tell you how much I needed to see that I was pushing forward. It just makes it so much more enjoyable when you know it's achieving it's purpose............getting me in better shape! This route, like all of them in this town, is quite hilly, and I try to make myself run most of the inclines. While I hate the hills now, I figure that having trained in a hilly region will really help me come marathon time. The course itself is quite flat, the only 'hills' being the border crossings of the Ambassador Bridge and the tunnel--which runs a mile under water. It should be easy going in but a real pain running out uphill the last half-mile.

I am so excited about this.

Fuzzy Friday

Don't let the lack of posting fool you. I'm still walking and still on target. I really enjoyed my walk yesterday in spite of wearing clothing that was not nearly warm enough. My arms were beet red by the time I got home and my hands felt as if they had been dipped in liquid nitrogen. Alas, I made it, kept my speed up and got it done early in the day.

I'm about to lace up and leave. Today is the first day that the trees look fuzzy and green. It's beautiful! I'm hoping to be able to walk outside but if it starts raining again, I'll pop over to the Y and hop on the treadmill and either walk twice as long, go uphill the whole way, or run half of the time.

I really AM pathetic but it's not stopping me.

I AM walking VERY fast. I am going out faithfully. I am going the distance. In that respect I'm not pathetic. But my goodness, I shouldn't be sore from that.....but I am. Not intensely. I just can't believe how out of shape I am.

If you're younger than me, DON'T WAIT! Get in shape now. I believe you can start at any age, but some are definitely easier than others.

Even though I'm well aware of my patheticness, I'm still excited about doing this and can't wait to see myself progress.

Progress

I walked this evening with Jim. We kept a decent pace. Because Jeff had plans and he was watching Carrie for us, we had to be back at a certain time .... so we walked right after a big dinner. That was probably not the best option. Walking in the morning seems a little better. I was just glad we went and that I was able to get all my pre-training in this week. Nothing is hurting. No blisters. I can't wait to be able to run a decent distance but I really want to take this slow to prevent newbie injuries.

A Great Month to Get Started

Another beautiful day to walk. I pushed myself, ran most of the hills, trimmed my time a little bit, and felt fairly positive about this pursuit today.

Can't wait to walk again tomorrow. The best part is that for every thirty minutes I walk/run, I get two additional Weight Watcher points to consume. That makes it worthwhile in itself!

Even though what I'm doing right now isn't (or shouldn't be) particularly taxing, I can see that it is definitely needed to condition my body for the real training. My knees are definitely getting worked up to this slowly. I don't feel anything when I'm walking, but when I'm home I'm just shy of a pain sensation when I walk up and down stairs. Other than that, I just feel really good!

Taxified Tuesday

Due to a tax prep-related sleep deficit, I didn't walk this morning. I think I will walk the tax return to the post office, seeing that it is exactly 1.5 miles from my front door and my son has got the car at school until this evening (great planning, huh?). I deserve to be flogged for waiting this long to get the returns started. I will take it out on myself when I walk. Shame, shame, shame.

Tomorrow, after an adequate amount of self-abasement, I hope to return to this blog with sufficient sleep, a smile on my face, and a spring in my step! Wow, that was corny.