Month: September 2022

Exercising

Day 27: Where did seven days go?

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One thing that Mojo Lady recommended which I haven’t done yet is to make a training schedule. Thanks to not having one yet, I didn’t walk/run or exercise at all the entire weekend because I missed the morning windows of opportunity where I would have done it.

With the kids at home this weekend, I chose to spend my time with them rather than break away to exercise in the middle of the day. I did take the kids bowling yesterday which was quite a bit of exercise for me so that’s something. In fact, my hips and pelvis were in so much pain by the end of those three hours bowling that I thought for sure I was going to feel it this morning. BUT I DIDN’T!! I attribute that to the exercising I’ve been doing up to this point because I absolutely would have felt that soreness today otherwise.

I still don’t have a schedule right now but hopefully I’ll have one by the end of today. (Action Item No. 1)

In other news, my yoga mat arrived yesterday and I started stretching and exercising in front of my TV today and got my heart rate up. I’m using an Apple TV app called Fiton. It’s free and meets my needs for the time being. The idea is to walk/run in the evenings and get in stretching, yoga, and strength training in the mornings or in the middle of my work day.

So my goal is to build up endurance running and avoid injuries while doing it, not to lose weight. BUT… I do expect to lose weight as a side effect to the increased physical activity so I have taken a starting weight and body measurements so I can see my progress. I weighed and measured 5 days ago when the new gadgets arrived. Smart measuring tapes exist? Whaaaaat??!! I was so stoked over that!

In closing, I’m shopping around for either dumbells or a kettlebell and a slamball for strength training at home. I already have a jump rope.

Running

Day 20: I Ran

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Yeah I ran. I’ve run before but this felt different. I thought I was as out of shape as I was a year and a half ago, but the running I did tonight felt easy. Granted, I didn’t do a lot of it. I also didn’t plan or push myself. As soon as it started feeling hard, I’d go back to walking. I’m so afraid of injuring myself.

I can seem to get to sleep tho. I keep getting chest pains from anxiety when I put my phone down because that’s when There’s nothing left to do but think.

I think about a bunch of stuff I rather I didn’t. Then I get the pans of anxiety which I feel in my chest. It hurts which feeds into itself. Not a lot I can do about that except pick my phone back up.

Planning

Day 20: Fear begets a start

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I suspect the my quest for personal balance will be a lifelong journey. I struggle to create good habits much like my anus struggles to eject waste. It’s a bloody affair.

Nevertheless…

On this, the 20th day of my latest self-assigned challenge (and blog), I started the day scared shitless (almost literally) of the speed with which the upcoming event is approaching: namely, ze marathon. I got up, got dressed in my jeans and went out on a walk. It was early in the morning so it was cool and the walk was not hard. I walked to the nearby elementary school, went all the way around it and came back.

I can’t even run for a full minute yet so I know I have a lot of work ahead. So I got to thinking… if I do many smaller walk/run sessions, they might add up to more than a single hard walk/run every other day. I still don’t have a training plan drawn up and the ones available on the internet aren’t going to work for me. They are all too aggressive.

I asked my sister (who has been a runner for years) what those podcasts were that she had recommended to me four months ago (which is really when I should have started training to begin with). I started listening to the first of a series of 10 short podcasts designed to start newbie runners on the right path. That podcast made it clear to me that my goal of running a marathon in six months really is crazy. The podcaster says “if you follow my instruction, you may be ready to run your first 10k in a year.” oh. my. god. Well, a marathon is 42.2k, so… Oh boy…

But enough with the fueling of the fear, amiright? I decided to postpone my decision on whether I should cancel the whole trip to California until next month. My kids are already looking forward to it, my neighbor who is also running the same marathon says six months of training is good enough. But she can already run and doesn’t know my fitness level, so…

A couple hours later I got my hydration vest out, my favorite exercise pants and headed out in the midday heat to go on a longer walk. I didn’t plan on running, I just know I need to get used to doing -anything- in the heat. I was going to go out again at night for another walk but I went grocery shopping instead and stuffed my face with food afterwards: another bad habit I need to change.

Introspecting

Day 19: Weed whacking panic attack

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So today I went out with the trimmer to get the spots I couldn’t get with the mower and then I wept up the mess I left after yesterday’s lawn work. I don’t have a leaf blower so I had to use my big broom. T

There’s something about that back and forth motion from activities such as sweeping, mopping, or vacuuming that just fucking kills me cardiovascularly. It just wipes me the eff out and fast. Doing it in 90+ degree weather made it much worse. I think sweeping up the sidewalk was actually harder than mowing and trimming the lawn yesterday. Omg!

Later in the night, as I was in bed getting ready to drift off, I had an anxiety-filled panic-stricken moment of realization. This marathon is in 6 MONTHS. SIX FREAKING MONTHS! That’s practically right around the corner. That’s not “next year”! That’s 1 2 3 4 5 6 months away!!!

Having my head in the sand is a life long habit and the shock of fast approaching deadlines always hit me this way. The issue with this one is I can’t get away with it by paying some late fee.

I HAVE to be ready for this in advance! Oh My GOD whatamigonnado?!?!

Adulting

Day 18: I mowed the lawn

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My lawn was looking pretty hairy so I had to mow it. Btw, I’m talking about the grass on my front yard, ok?

With all the rain in the last couple weeks, my weeds were making a come back and I knew I’d be getting some warning from the HOA, so I got to work. I mowed the lawn and edged the front. Didn’t get to weed whack. Didn’t get to clean up. It was hot out there too.

By the time I was done mowing and emptying the bag, I was done. I left all the clippings from the edging all over the place. It was a mess and I knew it would be an eye sore for my neighbors, but I was Niagara Falls sweating, light headed, and fear of death made me stop for the day.

This experience made me realize I’m delusional about doing this marathon in LA. But I also know giving up just because mowing the lawn is hard would be a major cop out.