Joy!

I decided to try something new at the gym since I had my brace, mp3 player, water bottle, etc… I did a 5:1 walk:jog workout. And it worked! The first jog minute was really tough, my body mostly saying ‘What are you trying to do to me??’ Each consecutive jog minute got easier and I found myself having to not push it and just keep going with ‘the plan’. Towards the end I found myself actually smiling as I was jogging. I didn’t want to look like an idiot but I smiled anyway because I was thrilled. Thrilled I tell ya! Aaaand then the weekend happened. I spent Saturday dealing with car dealerships, and Sunday feeling like crud so I felt it best to rest. This of course threw a kink in the works. The pattern continued, yesterday I spent the evening emptying out the old car in preparation for returning it to the dealer (lease vehicle) and tonight was spent signing paper work on the old car, still feeling mildly crummy. So, tomorrow’s plan, back to the gym! I’m hoping for a repeat of the ‘joy jog’. We’ll see, I’m pretty sore and allergies are being mean. If nothing else, I’ll at least bike it for 30 tomorrow just to keep active.

Couple more days of the 5:1 and I’m going to change to 4:2 and so on… Don’t have the weeks/days to get all the way to all jogging, but will come close before the 5k.

 

All Aspects

There’s been a lot going on in the World of Monica lately. As I’ve been changing, so have the relationships in my life. Ones that no longer serve where I’m going have begun to fade away, while those that support what’s happening, have been growing stronger. It’s interesting to see. Also noticed that while I’m still a little bothered by the fading, I’m more ok with it now than I have been in the past. Guess I’m growing stronger in more than just the physical.

 

So last we met, I was going to test a new knee brace… it works! Now I just need to train my lungs and continue to stretch often… which is what I’m doing as I type this.

I’ve been reading some pretty inspiring things lately. Just finished Born to Run and am now reading Goddess to the Core. Both books have shown me that, yes, I can do whatever because the ability and strength are there, they’ve just been ignored or pushed aside because of something I was told. I’m starting to see little improvements as just improvements rather than ‘not quite what I wanted’ improvements. Every little bit will eventually stack up to a healthy person.

 

When I started this, I expected to get healthier. I hoped to get healthier not just physically but emotionally, mentally, spiritually, etc… I started to focus strictly on the physical however and hit road blocks all over the place. Things are slipping into alignment now that I’ve started to explore other aspects of my well being. I’m eating better, being active even if it means some yoga instead of a walk/jog, I’m bringing my spiritual side back into things, and I’m stepping back into my power. Now and then I just sit back, look at myself, and giggle at what I see.

 

This weekend is a Reiki Retreat that my spiritual sister and I have put together for some of the lovely women in our lives. I’m hoping to work some physical activity into our spiritual weekend for that balance. I know a couple of them will be all for it, and one may even have a few things she can share, she is a personal trainer after all!

Family, braces, and barefeet

A member of my family (GE) has a habit of picking on my health whenever said family member is around another member of the family (GW). That situation came to pass this past weekend. It was a holiday so the family got together and at some point it turned to talk about my health and weight. Over the years I’ve developed ways to fend off the attacks. GW didn’t have much to say this time thankfully. I really didn’t want to fend off a dual attack, not on what was to that point, a good day. GE started in on my weight and how I needed to loose weight if I wanted to reach old age. With a statement like that, one would think I was a big beach ball. I don’t deny that I’ve got excess baggage, but I’m healthy overall. My numbers at the doc, other than the scale, are good. This was after I got a lecture for adding salt to my food. I don’t eat many premade products, so I don’t get much salt in my diet if I don’t add it. Normally, this wouldn’t be much of an issue on any front. Once my blood pressure is taken into consideration however, this begins to be an issue. If I don’t add salt to my food my BP can get so low that I tend to just be a lump on the sofa. Having low BP and somewhat poor circulation isn’t a spiffy place to be. So, I salt. That hurdle overcome, it was time to take on the next issue, weight. GE picked on my arms and face, saying they were indicators I was overweight. I pointed out that I got their lack of chin, and mom piped in saying she had as well. My chin is starting to be more prominent but it won’t get a whole lot more visible as I get thinner because it’s small, and this is after I had dental appliances to lengthen my jaw as a kid. Yes, it used to be worse. I then mentioned that I’m going to run a 5k in August. I expected that statement to make GE happy. I’m working towards a goal, towards something that will be an achievement and improved health. Instead, it was met with sort of a scoff and ‘How long can you run now?’ … innocent enough question, until you add tonality to it. I could tell GE wasn’t impressed with my statement. Almost like they didn’t believe it would happen. Another family member stepped in and actually sounded interested in it.

 

I’m not sure what brought the whole thing on, aside from another family member gaining a considerable amount of weight recently and GE being upset at that. I had to keep telling myself that I’m doing this for myself, not for them, not for those who doubt. I won’t deny it though, I am looking forward to hearing them shut up about things at some point.

 

Bought a new brace for my knee today. I tested it out a little bit earlier today, feels like it’ll do the job nicely. I’ve also been reading Born to Run, it’s both inspiring and rather interesting. I’m not sure how much of it I can apply to things, though I may start doing some barefoot walks now and then. Being barefoot is something I’ve always enjoyed and was often running around without shoes as a kid.

 

So the plan for tomorrow after work, hit the park or the gym, depending on the temp, and test out the new brace.