Back in the game.

Now that life seems to be settling, I have begun the difficult process of purging all the 30+ pounds I've gained over the last year (most of that in the few months leading up to the move). I brought the treadmill with dreams of running on it again only to discover that it sucks too much power and end up having to reset the outlet the times I've tried to use it. Thankfully we have a beautiful neighborhood and great weather right now. So, I began the habit of walking again. I believe this is week 3 for me. After the first week I decided to take the dog with me. I miss walking with friends but ChiMax is a great companion and he literally pushes (ok, pulls) me to go faster and farther. He was so excited the first time I took him that we sprinted down the street. I ended up with a lot of shin pain after that first time because we were so excited to use our energies. But, we have a rhythm now and goals to help me improve.

Matthew helped me chart the distance of our paths and the one I use regularly now is about 1 and a half miles. The route  is basically a long street with streets that come off of it. I go up the streets (culdesac) and one that loops. I've worked up to running the long strips (there are 4) and walking up the streets so I get a break between running stretches. (Kind of like the letter R) I only go up the streets on the way out and skip them on the way back. My ultimate goal is to be able to run the entire thing, but for now I want to be able to run the long strip on the way back.

Today I was able to run the most so far. On the way out I ran up to the second driveway of C street. which is almost to the top of the culdesac. I did the same for F street and then made it from the end of F all the way to C (which is two strips in a row). I walked the third strip and then ran from W to the end of our street. I had to do a longer cool down so I passed our house and walked up another two driveways and back.

I keep expecting my clothes to fit better because I am exercising again, but I have to remind myself that the weight didn't appear over night and it won't disappear over night. I am not focusing too much on what I eat right now either which really makes a difference too. I try to kind of keep it in mind, but I am just not ready to spend my energies on that quite yet. Baby steps. My efforts in this area are mostly in the fact that I am actually making dinner most every night instead of eating out all the time. I know there is great value just in this effort.

I wish I could do Cardio X but I don't have that disc anymore and few people in the area are selling them. Most of the ones I've seen on craigslist are in NY.I miss my plyo action. My belly could use some core work too. All in good time though. I figure I will enjoy being able to exercise outside for now and worry about inside exercise when it gets cold.