Exercise

Me'n'exercise have a love/hate relationship. I love to hate it. I hate to love it. Love doing it, hate doing it. You know.

I always wanted to be athletic. I did. I tried throughout my childhood, but never quite got there. I finally gave up in Grade 8 cuz I had too many other things interesting me. Like music. Like church. Like getting good grades. Like baking. So that's that. And that certainly contributed to my weight problem throughout my youth.

Fast forward to when I got married. Brian and I lived in a beautiful little town called Hope. The outdoors met us each day as we walked out our front door. So, we did a lot of hiking, kayaking and biking. Man, leaving that place broke our hearts. But living in the Vancouver, BC area wasn't that much worse and we stayed reasonably active. Though I was reminded one day as we hiked up a mountain with my sister and her husband how incredibly out of shape I really was.

Then I had kids and I completely let myself go.

Three pregnancies later, I start WW and I was determined to lose the weight without being dependent on exercise. I still am to a point. I lost a lot of weight without earning many activity points at all. We walked as a family once in a while and I did my Windsor Pilate's Video which I loved because it is not dependent on cardio (and I attribute it to my ability to carry an 11lb 14oz baby in my womb). But that was it. Then in the end of August, we got our treadmill. At first it was just walking. 20 minutes, maybe...at 2 or 3 miles/hour. My first couple times on it, I couldn't let go of the rails. I continued to work on it, usually when my kids were napping, until I could do 4 miles per hour comfortably. When I hit my 200lb mark, I figured it would be safe for my knees to start running. So, I searched online and found The Couch to 5K Running Plan. I've been following that. I'm a few weeks behind where I should be if I was following the schedule exactly, but I knew if I pushed myself too hard, I'd quit. So, if in a week I didn't feel comfortable, I repeated that week until I thought I could go further. I've got 3 weeks left and want to be able to run the 5k by the summer at the latest.

Today, I ran (at 5 miles/hour) for 2 eight minute intervals. I didn't think I could do it...but I did! I'm supposed to run 20 minutes straight on Saturday...we'll see if I get there. But if I don't, there's always next week.

I've noticed some benefits to running. My arms are more defined. My midsection is more solid. I can feel my leg muscles under my fat. I just feel better. I want to actually be in shape for the first time in my life. I suppose starting in your 30's is better than nothing, hey?

Next adventure? Yoga.