Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger.

Ok. So I'm not ready to run a marathon. Not even close to running a 5k. But I can tell a difference in my walks. Today I walked around our two neighborhoods. That was about 4.5 miles. I walk every cul-de-sac, dead-ends, every turn and curve. The second part of our neighborhood is so much bigger and so much more torturous that I hate it but suck it up. Thank God for my MP3 player. You've gotta have the right music to keep going and keep up a good speed. I'm trying to push myself so I did a bit more running. I ran up a lot of hills today and pressed on after I reached the top. It wasn't easy and I was breathing hard afterwards, but I did a lot more jogging than I've done before.

When I got home, I used a resistance band to do some arm exercises. Man are those things deceiving! I even managed to squeeze in some ab exercises.

I managed to make it to the gym twice this week. Not fun. Well, the first time I made it I was only 2o minutes into my elliptical run before I was called home for an emergency. Everyone is fine. The second time I made it there I set the timer for 35 minutes. I couldn't do it! I was so so so tired. I cut it down to 20 minutes plus the cool down. I think part of it is that walking outside and walking on a machine are completely different. Each is a challenge in it's own right. The hills in my neighborhood would give a season treadmill runner a run for their money. But I really wouldn't want to run a treadmill.

Anyway, I'm trying to work it out, you know? I try to stay positive and focused, but it can be hard. As much as I say that I don't want to weigh myself, I just can't resist. And the stupid thing says that I gained 4 pounds since I've started this thing! What?! I told my hubby that I want him to hide it from me because all I'm doing is setting myself up for disappointment. I know that I'm making a difference. I know I am. A friend of mine said that there could be many reasons for the suspected weigh gain, including retaining water. I like that idea and that's what I'm sticking with!

I've read that getting enough sleep is very important. I have to agree with that. I stay up too late. When I wake up, I don't feel like doing anything for the whole day! Yesterday I managed to get to bed an hour earlier than normal. Today I woke up ready to take on the world. Getting sleep is key.

I think I'll do my walk again tomorrow and work on some leg exercise and glutes. Wish me well and that my legs don't give out.

Home! This route was about a mile shorter than my walk to home depot yesterday. So i logged about 4 1/2 miles today!

Askd Bart if i should walk or drive to the store to get a newspaper. He said to walk. Whose side is he on anyway?? Got a napsack this time

My Legs!

Because my parents were going out of town, I decided to take the boys over to their house and spend the night so they spend a little time with the grandkids. Since I was at their house and didn't walk around their neighborhood on Friday, I decided to join my mom at the church gym and do the bootcamp that they have at 6 in da morn. I was kind of scared because both my mom and my girl Steph made it sound killer. I won't lie; it was hard. The trainer had us do something called Jenga or something. It reminded me of some Brazilian fighting/dancing. Or you remember Eddie from PlayStation's Tekken? He was always jumping around and kind of break dancing. That's what I felt like. Honestly, it looked easy and the movements weren't too hard on the body, but you were definitely sweating and feeling it.

After that he had us do ab exercises. Yeah, that didn't work for me. My stomach muscles started cramping up. Man that was painful! The instructor told me not to do any more because it would just cramp up again. He was right. After I had stretched it out, I curled into a ball to roll up into a sitting position. That didn't work either. My stomach just cramped up again. So I just stretched it out again and laid there on the floor until class was over.

I felt the exercise for the rest of the day and night. I woke up today planning on resting and not going for a walk. But with some encouragement from Steph and my older sister and after admitting that I ate 3 slices of pizza the night before. So instead of just walking my usual route, I decided at the last minute to go the distance--walking to Home Depot. I needed to go there to get something for the toilet and stop at the bank as well. Well, I made it there and back unharmed, just sore. When I walked into Home Depot, this lady said, with a smile, "I saw you walking!" My sister said that I should have said, "Why didn't you pick me up?" I thought about saying something about how she should have joined me, but she was overweight and that would've sounded mean. When I stopped at the bank, the guy asked if I had walked. Who knows. Maybe I might inspire one person to get moving. My whole trip took a little over 2 hours and a little over 5 miles. I'm proud of myself even though my calves are screaming. I hope No one could smell me in the stores because I smell now!

I tell you one thing: My legs have definitely gotten a workout! I remember when I first started walking earlier this year (it didn't last). When I would walk around the neighborhood and even trying to jog a little, my legs (especially my inner thighs) would start itching like crazy! I would want to rub and scratch them, but I didn't want someone driving by or looking out their window and see me scratching between my legs. What would they have thought?? I looked it up to see what was causing the itching. Turns out that since I had been so inactive for so long, the itching was a result of my nerves and blood vessels that I hadn't used in such a long time trying to work again. How embarrassing is that?? But now that I've been moving and jogging a bit, my legs don't itch anymore. But they are sore.

Now that I'm walking I need to work on other parts, evident by my stomach cramping up after doing some crunches. Hopefully, after church tomorrow, I'll drag myself to the gym and work on some upper body stuff. Wish me well!

Oh, special thanks to my hubby. After working all night and into the morning, he comes home, watches the kids, and lets me take my long walk. Thanks, Honey!