Oh the things life throws at us!

I'm having a really hard time caring about exercise with everything that's been going on in my life the last two weeks. First, we found a new apartment that we get to move into in April! That was really exciting. We bought a washer and dryer to go in the new apartment and we are going to be able to paint it before moving in as well. I can't wait. We'll have more square feet, an extra bedroom, and no cigarette smoke smell to deal with! The kitchen is bigger, too, which is a great bonus!

Unfortunately, just about the time when we were getting things settled with the new apartment, Alfred got sick. Then we had to deal with cleaning up after him, taking him to the vet, and wondering if he was curable. After a frustrating time of testing and having discussions with the vet, we weren't sure what to do. So, we took him to another vet for a second opinion, and it turns out he should be treatable with prescription food. Sure it's a little pricey, but if it will keep him healthy and happy, I'm all for it!

On top of all this, I of course have tons of homework to do. So, I'm not sure when I'll get to go exercise again. Hopefully next Monday I can go for a jog/walk, but who knows? I just have way too much studying to get done this weekend (and all before Sunday night at 6:00). Plus, Sunday is my birthday, so after I turn in my homework Sunday evening, Ryan and I are heading to the Melting Pot for a lovely romantic dinner. I am so glad about that. Hopefully after that everything will be semi-normal for a while. Of course I'll be juggling homework for the rest of the semester, but that's okay.

Keepin' on keepin' on

So, I didn't get out and exercise on Sunday like I wanted because of all my homework and other things that needed to get done, but I did go jogging (walk/run) again yesterday. My average pace was a 13 min mile! I was excited; even though that's not very fast for most people, it was fast for me. I went 2.6 miles in 35 minutes, including warm up/cool down time. Not too bad for running only in intervals (I can't keep up a 5 mph pace for very long; right now my intervals are 2 min walk/3 min run). Today is Aerobics and Yoga again. I can't say I'm excited about aerobics, but I love yoga! Hopefully sometime this week I can weigh myself to check my progress. I hope I've lost a pound or two!

exercise road block

Friday was day 5 for my 5K training, but it snowed. Since it was a snow day, I decided I didn't need to exercise (even though I could have gotten on a treadmill in our apartment complex). I was supposed to go hiking yesterday, but that didn't work out either, and now most of today has gone by without me getting my exercise. Now I have homework to do (which I'm putting off by posting this blog), and a birthday party to go to tonight. I'm still motivated to get back out there tomorrow, but what about today? How do I fit it in? I'm going to try to finish up my homework really fast, then hopefully at least get on the treadmill before the party tonight. We'll see. Otherwise, I won't let this minor setback keep me from exercising this coming week. Here's to keepin' on keepin' on.

Week 1, day 4

Yesterday was my third day of training for the race.  I was glad to be able to do all of the reps I was supposed to do of my intervals; walking at 3.5 mph for 2 min, then running at 5 mph for 3 min, 5 times. It seems about the right level for me right now, but tomorrow I'm adding another rep (6 times instead of 5 times). I'm sure I can do it. Today I have aerobics and yoga again. I'm looking forward to it, but I know that yoga is going to be hard today. Thursdays are an advanced yoga class, and I already have problems with the beginner class. I think I'm feeling healthier. I'm not sure how my progress is going, but I hope to weigh myself this afternoon. We'll see how class goes today.

My running journey begins

I never would have thought I would become a runner. I'm not so sure even now, but I'm definitely coming closer. On Friday and again on Monday a walked/ran 2 mi. in under 30 min. Now, for me, this is an accomplishment. I was able to run at about 5 miles an hour, and my walking intervals were shorter than my running intervals (2 min versus 3 min running). The funny thing is, I actually enjoy it so far. Running with my iPod is definitely better than running without it. Now I have an arm band for it that will make it that much easier to carry music with me. The race is keeping me motivated. If I can complete a 5K, then maybe I can continue running and someday run a half marathon. That would be fantastic! Eventually maybe a marathon. But I'm probably getting ahead of myself. Who am I to think that I'll become a real runner? Right now I'm into it, but what happens later when I don't want to do it anymore? What then? Hopefully I can look back at my blog and see what I enjoy about running; maybe that will keep the motivation up. I will say that I have had more energy in the evening after exercising in the afternoon. I've felt exhiliration from completing my goals. I should start losing weight soon, hopefully. Anyway, I'm excited about the journey I'm on and I hope it helps me get healthier.

Training for a 5K charity race

Yesterday I signed up for my first ever race. I'm going to start training this afternoon, and on Mon/Wed/Fri to follow. I only have about 5 weeks (the race is on the 26th of February). I'm really excited because I needed something to motivate me to run. Hopefully I can lose weight and get in shape along the way! If I can remember, I'll post my progress here.

New interest in blogging

So, I haven't been on here in a while, as you can see. I forget about my blog sometimes (probably because no one else is interested in reading it). Anyway, recently I've had a lot more time to spend on the internet (work is really slow), so I've been busy on facebook and now Goodreads (which is an awesome website for readers). If someone sent me an invite to a site for crochet-ers, I would join that one too! A new interest is trying to work up to being able to do 100 pushups at a time (right now I can do 3); Ryan found a website to help me do that, and he wants to try too! (I seriously need some arm/back/tummy definition, and I might try the 200 sit-ups program, too.) Now that I found out I can add book reviews from Goodreads to my blog, I might be on here more. Anyway, if anyone is interested in these same pursuits, let me know!

Rainy (not lazy) afternoon

It seems strange that I have more energy today even though it's raining outside. I guess it's probably because I only worked till noon today, plus I went and exercised. I got to work on my favorite muscle group: arms. I love lifting weights (granted they're really light weights). It just makes me feel like I'm doing something positive for my strength and my body composition. Working on my arms makes me feel strong! We also worked our abs out today. That's great for making me feel slimmer. I don't know if I'll ever look slimmer, but at least I can have more self confidence. Even though it's raining, I'm not going to just curl up with a book (even though I would really love to). Instead I'm going to clean house. I hope to make our home inviting for Ryan to come home to. There's nothing worse than coming home to a messy house. Speaking of which, I'm going to end this now, put on some Christmas music (I know, I shouldn't start that yet, but I'm gonna!), light a cinnamon candle, and get started with dishes! Wish me luck!