357 Days Until Race Day!

 It's funny how much life has such an affect on my running and training enthusiasm. I'm currently in limbo, so to speak, in regards to a job and housing. I'm attempting to transition in both areas but there just seems to be so much waiting involved. Exercise has always been a way to reduce my stress, so I'm certainly making use of that right now. It's just frustrating because I want to really get focused on my training, yet other aspects of life seem to be pulling my attention away from the excitement of my adventure back into Track and Field. I know I need to stop letting other worries take away my enthusiasm for running. It's sooooo hard, though!

Well, anyway, my training is going well. I'm getting plenty of walk time in with my favorite walking buddy. I included fartleks this week. Every time I came to an intersection, I jogged across instead of walking. I was pleased to note that there wasn't as much extra jiggle around the tummy as there used to be so I must be doing alright with the eating and exercise adjustments. Yay!

Eating did get a little rocky because for some weird reason I was craving Pretzel M&Ms. No idea why but I just was. So I bought a small bag and ate some and shared the rest. They were ok, but not worth the calories. I try to keep these little snack packs on hand that seem to help if I need a healthy snack between meals. They have almonds, cashews and a few chocolate pieces. I actually enjoy those more than most candy because they have some salt, some sweet and in general are healthy. So I guess next time i have a weird craving for a sweet treat, I'll eat one of those packs first and see if that takes care of it. 

361 Days Until Race Day!

 I'm feeling stronger each day and think I might be ready to try adding some short bursts of running into my daily walks. I'm thinking of just doing a couple hundred yards 2-3 times during my loop (which is approximately 1 1/2 miles). I'm curious to see how that would feel. I'm hesitant to do too much running until I lose more weight. I'm being cautious because I don't want any injuries and I'm afraid trying to run after so long without running and with all the extra weight, it very easily could result in injuries of some sort. 

So next week I'll test out running with just a few bursts, what we used to call fartleks. And as a kid I used to call them fartlets because well, of course I thought that was funny. Honestly, I still smile when I say it. I'll try adding some of those into my walks next week and hopefully all will go well and I can lengthen the bursts until I'm able to jog the whole loop and beyond! 

I have to say, I'm feeling very nervous about my 3rd goal of trying to beat the time of 5:41. I can't imagine how great of shape that woman must be in. I beat that time when I was in my best shape but that was oh, so many years ago. I'm having doubts about that even being remotely possible, however, I keep trying to remind myself that I have to at least try. I'm tired of regretting that I gave up on my running. And there is no better time to get going on my goal than right now. I'm not getting younger and I certainly doubt I'll invent a time machine, which means, I just have to buckle down and focus on my goals in a positive light. All I can do is try my best. If I fail, then so be it, but at least I tried.

363 Days Until Race Day!

 It's been a little busy here with my favorite walking buddy graduating tomorrow. I can't believe it! We've still been getting our walks in, though. It's been pretty warm but we've been bringing along our 50oz. water bottle so it hasn't been too bad. No soreness and I can easily hold a conversation. I even jogged a couple times today...to cross the intersection...so not far but it didn't feel terrible so maybe some short jogging ventures will be in my near future?

I haven't been super focused on losing weight, however, I have been eating less so I have noticed that I am lighter. I haven't weighed myself and I'm not sure if I will any time soon. I don't know if it is helpful to depend on the scale so much. I don't want it to discourage me if my weight doesn't drop quick enough. It's getting a little easier to make healthy food choices so I'm trying to focus more on positive things I'm doing so I don't get caught up in guilt tripping myself to eat better. 

I found another exercise to add to my strength routine. It's called a single leg deadlift. You can just use your own body weight or add some intensity by using a kettlebell. To start, I'll just use my body weight and see how that goes. I added it because I wanted to target my hips with some more exercises. I'm worried about my hips being weak. Last year my dad fell and broke his hip so now I'm worried about my hips being too weak. Well, this exercise also benefits my back, glutes and core, so yay!

365 Days Until Race Day!

 So the Senior Games, more specifically the Track and Field events took place this past weekend. That means, I am in the official countdown to next year's games. Ok, technically I was already counting the days but now I'm doing it more officially. :) I'm going to set my goals, include my schedule for this week and give my status update. 

When I was a kid, I used to set 3 goals for a big race. The first goal was one I could achieve as long as I put the work in. The second goal was harder and required extra effort. And the third goal was really tough but still achievable as long as I give it my best. 

My three goals are:

1. Compete in my age group in the 1500m run.

2. Place 1st in my age group in the 1500m run. (I just looked at the 2022, 2023, and 2025 results and only 2 women ran this event each year)

3. Beat the 2025 best time for women in the 1500m run (5:41.70 )

Ok, all of those goals will require me to get my butt in gear and be focused, however, I know that if I give it my all, then I can accomplish at the very least, the first and hopefully the second goal. The third goal is definitely going to be extremely difficult. It wouldn't be a challenge though, if it was easy.

My schedule for this week:

1. Strength training routine - 4 days/week (2 sets of 10 reps/exercise)

2. Walking - 4 to 5 miles per day

I might add an eating aspect to my schedule at some point but for now, I'll hold off on it.

My status update:

I walked for approximately 3 miles today. I need to make sure I increase to at least 4 miles starting tomorrow. With the Summer break starting soon and bringing the hotter temperatures, I may move my walking to mornings when it will hopefully be cooler.

Day 45, 46 and 47

 Still working out and that is going well. I think next week I can up the sets to 3 for each exercise. The warm up and cool down also make such a positive difference so I'm glad I added those in. Walking is going great and yesterday I did an extra long walk...almost 2 and 1/2 hours. Whew! And then another 45 minute walk with my favorite walking buddy. And best of all, I wasn't sore or anything. Woohoo! I'm eating better. Still having some chocolately goodness but I feel like overall I'm eating less junk and fewer snacks, so that's good. I'm also being more aware of how I feel as far as checking to see if I'm hungry before eating. That has worked well especially at night. I think I read somewhere that you shouldn't eat past a certain time in the evening so that your body has enough time to process food before sleep. So I try to keep that in mind when I decide whether or not to have an after dinner snack.

To continue my backstory, I did so=so in Cross Country for my Junior year and then Basketball wasn't good. All the years of running and jumping on the concrete floor finally caught up to me and I was diagnosed with "Jumpers Knee" in both knees. I don't know what the scientific name is but it basically meant I had to do some physical therapy for most of the season. Unfortunately, it didn't help. I wanted to quit Basketball but caved to peer pressure and stayed on the team. I wasn't able to run track that Spring and that did not help my attitude at all. Then, for my Senior year, my anger continued as well as my bad decisions. I ran Cross Country but didn't do very well. Then I played Basketball even though I knew it would mean no Track and Field. See, with my knee injuries, it wasn't obvious from the outside that anything was wrong. I would tell people about the pain I was in but since they couldn't see it, they didn't really believe me. Which of course just made me angrier.

I understand that ultimately, I only have myself to answer to for choices I made. And I absolutely have regrets about not speaking to my parents about this. Sadly, we can't go back in time and undo mistakes. Instead we can only move forward and try to learn and grow from them. For me, that took quite a few years. Eventually I got back into running and even completed a mini triathlon and two marathons. However, raising a child and going back to college to complete my degree, along with other life experiences, took my attention away from running. It's always been a part of me, I just ignored it for a while. But now, it's time to stop ignoring that call of the road (or track) and see what I can do. 

Day 41 - 44

 Walking is going great! So much so, that I think I'll increase the distance even more. And I think I'll increase the pace, too, since I'm able to carry on a conversation with no problems at all. I did get a little jump scare today, though. When my favorite walking buddy and I were walking our usual route, a coyote suddenly raced across a yard and passed only a few feet in front of us on the sidewalk. It didn't pay much attention to us, instead it quickly made its way across the street and away from us. I had my pepper spray out and ready but didn't need it. The coyote just wanted to get away from that area. Ever since COVID we've had a lot more coyotes wandering into town.

Exercises are going good but I feel I'm not quite ready to increase the reps or sets yet. And my knees have finally forgiven me for using them so much while packing up my lego-like toys. Now I need to see where I can donate them. I feel kind of bad having them just sit around and collect dust instead of being played with. Anyway, I really like the exercise bands I use. I wish I would have known about them sooner. They are easy to store and easy to use. They come in different levels of stretchiness to make things harder or easier to do the exercises. I especially like the fact that I don't need dumb bells or exercise machines to get a good workout for my muscles. 

To continue my backstory, I kept training with my dad throughout Junior High and to the end of my Sophomore year of High School. That final track season, I did the best I had ever done. I felt great, had no injuries and ran the best 1500m of my life. I got 5th place overall and was thrilled. Then, that summer, my dad told me that if I wanted to really keep running, it was time for me to train myself. Other parents had been telling him that he was working me too hard and he finally caved to the peer pressure. Unfortunately, instead of me talking to him about it, I just felt hurt and turned to being angry. I had no idea how to train myself and I was too mad to ask for help. 

Day 36 - 40

 Sorry for taking so long to get back to my entry. I've been cleaning and bagging all of my lego stuff, well, it's actually not legos but rather lego-like. I'm doing a little Spring cleaning so I thought I'd go through the stuff on my shelves and see what to donate and what to keep. Anyway, I kind of got sucked into the project and haven't had much time for anything else. On the down side, my knees hate me for using them too much. On the bright side, it has helped me avoid snacking during the day. I've eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner but no boredom snacking! 

And another yay! I have been doing my exercises this week and no soreness after. The workout still feels a little tough so I won't increase the reps or sets just yet. I'm very happy, though, that my body seems to be getting stronger, even if it is going slower than I had hoped, it's still progress. Also, my new pillow is working out great for my neck. It would be kind of a hassle if I still slept on my back and sides because I would have to keep turning the pillow around to have my neck rest properly on it. But since I only sleep on my sides, it's working out well.

To continue my backstory, when I was a kid, my family used to participate in road races on the weekend. Not every weekend, but probably about once a month. We would travel to different parts of the state, usually no more than an hour away. We'd run different distances, mostly between 5k and 5 miles. I really enjoyed road races because I almost always won a medal or trophy. A lot of people just participated as a way to be healthy, where I liked to compete to win. Once I started Junior High, I joined the Track & Field team. I also played Basketball in the winter and Soccer in the Fall. I did these three sports every year from 7th grade until 11th grade. 

Day 33, 34 and 35

 My toe is all better! Yay! I'm still not sure what it was but I'm glad it's gone. Walking has been going well and I've been continuing to get in extra miles each day. Also the strength exercises are going alright. I'm kind of bummed that I still feel sore the day after the exercises. I'm hoping that the soreness goes away as my muscles get stronger. It sucks that I'm so out of shape that this small amount of exercises its so tough for me physically. I just need to not get down about it. I'll get stronger and the exercises will get easier. 

The heat hasn't been too bad. It's warmer than I'd like but at least we aren't having any heat waves yet. I've gotten a larger water bottle, though, just to be prepared for when summer hits. Oh, and I also bought a new pillow that I'm hoping will help with my stiff neck. I've been getting them on and off recently and I think it's because of being a side sleeper. I can't sleep on my back anymore because of an eye issue so it's been an adjustment to only be able to sleep in my side. I bought a pillow specifically designed to help keep your body in good alignment while sleeping on your side, so I hope this will help prevent any more stiff necks.

To continue my backstory, after that first summer, I don't remember what changed or why, but I started to enjoy running. My dad became my coach and we figured out that I was better at longer distances. He created a running schedule for me and we started running together almost every day. I had to keep a running journal and I even have a part of it still. I don't know what happened to most of them, but it's fun to reread the entries I kept. By the time the next summer came along, I was ready to compete. I looked forward to the training and competitions. I loved to run. I'm hoping to get back to that feeling some day.

Day 30, 31 and 32

 Listening to Ozzy right now as I type this up. :) So I checked my toe the other day by holding a mirror under it and found out there is a bump. I guess it's a bug bite of some sort, maybe. I'm not sure but at least it doesn't hurt as much and the bump seems smaller. When I walk it hurts for a little bit at first, then feels fine until I get home. Weird. Anyway, I'll keep an eye on it and hope that it goes away really soon. 

Strength exercises and walking are going well. Today didn't feel quite as hot as yesterday, so that's good. Also, I did a little experiment last night and totally regret it. I've been good about no screen time for the last hour before bed and I've been sleeping fairly well. Then last night I decided to test my luck and doom scrolled up until right before bed. I got caught up in learning about some different bands and where they are now and all that fun stuff. Well, very bad idea. I slept very poorly, had bad dreams and woke up tired. So definitely no doom scrolling tonight. Bad!

To continue my backstory, I remember that first summer we did Track & Field with the Summer Rec program and in particular, one specific day. We went to another school for a track meet and my parents even showed up to support us. I don't remember most of the day but I do remember my 400m race. The 400m race is one loop around a track. I hadn't done any type of training or preparation for this day, so I just started running when the gun went off and the other kids took off. I must have been very, very slow as I don't remember anyone else around me. And no, it wasn't because I was in first. I jogged but really did not want to be there. I cried almost the entire race and desperately wanted to get off the track and go home. I even looked up into the bleachers hoping my parents would just magically remove me from the track. They didn't, of course. I finished the race. Absolutely last. And for some reason, my parents kept me in Track & Field for the rest of the summer. And, as it turns out, I returned to that Summer Rec program for Track & Field every summer for the next 7 years. The program was for 14 years old and younger. 

Day 27, 28 and 29

 I just have to start off by saying I have a new favorite song that gets me up and ready to move. It's "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne. I heard it in the car the other day, so I found it online and have been listening to it on loop every day since. Anyway, the soreness is all gone although one of my toes on my right foot has started hurting and I have absolutely no idea why. I checked it out and can't see anything wrong, so I don't know what happened but I'll keep an eye on it and hope that it goes away as quickly as it appeared. 

The strength training is going well. It definitely upped the intensity with some of the moves. And I do appreciate the warm up and cool down. I think if all continues to go well this week I might increase the number of reps a bit for next week. Also, my favorite walking buddy and I have almost doubled our amount of daily walking, so Yay! It's getting pretty hot out, mid 80s today, so I need to make sure to wear sunscreen and bring lots of water. I wear a sun hat which helps shade my face pretty well but it doesn't always block the sun from getting to my neck so I need to remember to put sunscreen on before leaving for my walks. As for the water, we've been stopping home to refill before doing our second loop. That works ok, but maybe I'll buy a larger insulated water bottle for summer. 

I also thought I'd share a little background. I started running way back when I was 7 years old. I hated it at first. My parents wanted my siblings and I to get out of the house during the summer and keep active so they signed us up for the Summer Rec Program which included different sports and other activities. We ended up trying out Track & Field. I had no idea what I wanted to do so the coach had me try out pretty much every event over the course of the summer. I was terrible at everything. Of course, I had never run or done any kind of field events before in my life, so why would I be good? But I was a kid and at the time didn't realize how much work people put into becoming better. 

Day 24, 25 and 26

 Ok, so the past couple days have been a little rough because of how sore I've been. I think the extra long walk on Tuesday followed by the new additions to my strength training may have helped me find my current limit. So I'll be sticking to this strength workout for a bit and lower the amount of walking some since 3 hours is a bit much. At least now I know my max. I do feel pretty good today so I will get more walking in than the past few days. And hopefully the pace will be peppier, is that a word? More peppy, I could say. 

Another thing that has been working well is my timer. I have the timer on my phone set to 50 minutes so that every hour I'm getting up and moving around for 10 minutes. I thought that would be more disruptive to my work, but actually it has been nice. It forces me to stretch out my muscles and to focus on correcting my posture. Plus, it gets in some more walking. Even if it's not getting my heart rate going, it still counts as movement and activity. 

I think I'm going to do some more research on eating habits. I want to learn how to get the most out of what I eat. The hope is that I fuel my body properly, not only to build muscle and create healthy eating habits, but to avoid quick boosts of energy from sugary treats and such. And I've learned that I need more sleep. Well, not more sleep so much as better sleep. I have to look into what I can do to help with that. One thing is probably going to be stop with the screen time right before bed. I doom scroll sometimes and I'll be that's not good. :)

Day 21, 22 and 23

 Who knew that walking for almost 3 hours would leave you sore the next day? It was so worth it, though. I met up with friends and we walked and talked for about an hour and half. We got caught up on all kinds of things and it was really nice to spend time with them. The other hour and a half was from walking to the park and walking home from the park. It was quite a workout. And then, to top it off, I did a double long walk with my favorite walking buddy. Whew! So many miles! And to be honest, I'm actually not as sore as I thought I would be. 

This morning I started on my strength workout. The main difference is that I added in a warm up and a cool down. Who knew those two would make such a positive difference. It is a total of 20 minutes and it felt like I was working out every muscle group. I'm still keeping the reps to 10 and only 1-2 sets because I don't feel strong enough to up the number of reps or sets yet. Again, I want to play it a bit safe to begin with so that I don't pull any muscles or anything. It's early days still, so that should be ok.

I actually ate really well yesterday and didn't feel hungry like I usually would when I try to cut back on excessive calorie intake. I had lots of fruits and veggies and some protein and plenty of water. Oh, and I've started drinking a Boost drink for breakfast. It has a lot of vitamins and minerals and extra protein so it's pretty filling and I like the taste of the chocolate flavored one. For lunch I have avocado, hummus, cheese and pretzel crisps. I want to try to include some fruit as well. And then dinner usually consists of salad, meat (usually chicken), and some sort of roll or something. Oh, and a large glass of milk. Is there room for improvement? Yes, of course, but I feel like it's a decent start.

Day 18, 19 and 20

Oops! I forgot to blog yesterday so I'm doing it today. I found some new strength and stretching exercises to add to my routine. They are the single leg balance, the step and reach across and the glute bridge. I also found a good warmup and cool down to add as well. I'm really happy with how my walking and strength exercises are going. Unfortunately, my eating is not on track.

So, I hate to do it but I think I'm going to have to start counting calories. I've been trying to manage my portion sizes but I'm not seeing any change in my weight, which tells me that I need to be more intentional. That's why I'm going to start counting calories. Once I get myself to be more aware of what I'm eating, how much I should be eating and how much certain not so healthy choices have, I'm hoping that will get me on the right track. 

Another thing I'm going to do with the counting calories is lower my daily intake. 2000 calories a day is the average, so I'm thinking I'll drop mine to 1800 and see how that goes. I'm not looking for a quick fix, instead I want to make life changes so I can keep this up forever. And for now, the calorie cut is because I know that I need to take in fewer calories than I use up in order to lose the unwanted weight. I wonder if setting specific goals would help. Hmm? Maybe.

Day 15, 16 and 17

 I had a win this week with my eating choices. I had to go to the store for some veggies and I completely ignored the pastry section. Yay me! I also resisted the temptation of Ben & Jerry's ice cream (my absolute favorite treat). So I'm happy about that. I've also increased the amount of veggies I eat at dinner. I'm trying to add more veggies and fruit to lunch and breakfast, so hopefully I can increase those over the next several weeks. It's times like this when I wish I was a chef or at least knew a chef who was willing to make all my meals for me. That would be awesome!

My walking is going great especially because my favorite walking buddy is super fun to chat with. My strength exercises are good. I will need to increase the intensity of the wall plank. It still isn't very challenging. I know it would be a lot more difficult if I did plank on the floor, however, due to my eye situation, I don't want to put extra pressure and/or strain on it, so I have to stick with the wall version of plank for now. Also, I learned of this new way of doing squats and either I was doing them wrong before or these are tougher than they initially sounded. So it's like a regular squat except you have a chair behind you and as you squat down, you tap the chair with your butt and then stand up again. I know, it sounds funny, but it seems harder to do than a regular squat. Maybe I just wasn't squatting completely correctly before, I guess. Anyway, I definitely feel the burn with this version. Give it a try and see what you think

The other strength exercises I do are bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, knee lifts, leg kickbacks with resistance band and hand grips. I'll probably need to add more at some point, but these seem to be pretty good for now. I should add some stretches in, too, to improve my flexibility. I'll have to look those up. I suppose yoga would be a good option for this. I bet they have some classes nearby that I could check out. I'll most likely check that stuff out in another few weeks or so, once I'm starting to feel comfortable with my current activities.

Day 12, 13 and 14

 So I bought some more of the resistance bands, the ones with the handles. The ones that kind of look like jump ropes. I've really enjoyed using these for my strength exercises for my arms. It feels like a better workout than dumb bells. I can really feel the muscles working as I do each movement. With the dumb bells, sometimes I'd have pains in my shoulders and it didn't feel like it worked the muscle groups as well as I had hoped. So I'm much happier with the resistance bands. Maybe once I get to a certain level of fitness, I'll need to switch to dumb bells, but for now, these bands are working great for me. 

I'm walking a lot more and enjoying it. I've seen people out running and instead of feeling bad that I'm not doing that, I'm feeling optimistic that I'll be doing that soon. I definitely feel more positive about my athletic future instead of pitying myself for not doing more. I can't wait to get out and run again. I forgot how much I love running. 

Eating is going ok. I keep craving unhealthy options and it's been a struggle to ignore those cravings. I'm not very creative coming up with alternative, healthy choices so I need to search out some ideas online. I'm sure others have come up with better options to a lot of the usual snacks, desserts and other treats, now I just need to go find them. :) 

Day 9, 10 and 11

 This week is going well so far, although my legs were a bit sore after yesterday. I was practicing for an interview and it helps if I pace. I wasn't paying attention to the time and ended up pacing and practicing for about an hour and a half straight. Oops! A goodnight's sleep took care of it though. Today I'll make sure to keep a closer eye on the time. The interview went really well, by the way. :)

The strength exercises are going well. I think next week I should be able to increase them to 3 sets. Then I'll keep it at that for a few weeks like that. I might increase the intensity of the resistance band for my leg stretches, though. It feels too easy even at 2 sets of 10 reps. But that'll probably be the only one I increase the intensity on for a few more weeks. I want to make sure I don't over do it or pull or strain anything. 

I can definitely keep increasing the amount I'm walking. The walks I do with my favorite walking buddy are a pretty good pace, however, I think for my solo walks I'll try to walk fast enough that I can't hold a conversation easily. Besides, I'd probably look a little wacky talking to myself. 

Day 6, 7 and 8

 Oh rats! I didn't even make a week before I fell behind with my journal. Sorry to anyone who might be reading this! Anyway, my computer was out of commission for most of the weekend, so that's my excuse for the delay in posting. However, good news! I still did my workouts and got in a lot of extra walking. I've also done better with making good food choices although I did make some chocolate chip cookies yesterday and they are not lasting long. I'm not the only one eating them, though. :) 

Let's see, I'm not having any soreness or strain from increasing my exercise, so I'm very happy about that. I'll stick to just doing 2 sets of 10 reps for the strength exercise for this entire week before I decide whether or not to increase it. I'm not as worried about the walking. I think adding to my walks should be fine, it's when I start running that I think I'll run into more problems. I also should probably consider getting a decent pair of running sneakers, but that can wait for now. I want to get up to 4-5 miles of walking a day before I start including some running. The sneakers I have now are good for walking and light running so I have time. 

The weather is cooler this week, so I definitely should take advantage of that for outdoor exercise. I just wish I lived near the ocean. I love the salty air and looking out into the never ending blue where the ocean and sky meld into one. Ah, well. Maybe one day.

Day 5

 Today has been a pretty good workout day. I got in my exercises and a walk this morning and soon I'll get in my second walk with my favorite walking buddy. I've been more conscientious about my eating as well for the past several days. I'm not counting calories or fat or anything. For now, I'm just being aware of my food choices and trying to keep them at a reasonable portion size. One thing I don't have to work at is my water intake. I've been good about that for a while now, so Yay! 

I'm not experiencing much soreness from the increase in exercise, so I think next week I'll up the amounts. I'll add another 1-2 miles to my walking and right now I only do 10 reps for each exercise, so I'll add another set of 10 reps. And I'll see how that goes. Now you might be thinking, "Shouldn't you be running if you want to compete in a running race?" Yes, I should, however, I want to be smart and lose some weight first as well as build some muscle and strength before I start. The hope is to avoid injuries, stress or strain on my muscles, joints, etc.  

I know that right now the games seem like they are far off and I can take my time building up to more intense workouts, however, I am also very aware of how quickly time can move when you aren't looking. So I'll be sure to keep that lurking in the back of my mind. :)  

Day 3 and 4

 Life got a little distracting yesterday so I'm doing double entry today. I was struggling to concentrate yesterday so I did an extra walk on my own and then another long walk with my favorite walking buddy. However, I didn't do my exercises so first thing this morning, I did them. I've had to make adjustments to the routine because two of the exercises require a sturdy post of sorts to loop the resistance band around and for some reason, I don't have access to a sturdy post inside my home. So I changed up those exercises to versions I can do with my own body weight.  They are bicep curls and tricep pushdowns. I only did one set of each and I can feel it. Yikes! How out of shape am I? (Don't answer that)

I won't be able to walk with my favorite walking buddy today because I'm teaching this afternoon, but I will get in a walk on my own. My class isn't too far from home so I like to walk home after, as long as the weather is nice enough. 

The Senior Games are coming up next month and I've been trying to decide if I should volunteer to help out. On one hand, I think it would be super encouraging to see what others my age and older are able to do athletically speaking. On the other hand, it could send me down the path of regrets, disappointment and self doubt. I always loved the excitement of competition and seeing how far I could push myself, both mentally and physically. I liked coming up with strategies based on who I was competing against and I especially loved it when all my hard work and training paid off and I ran an awesome race. Ok, now I'm feeling nostalgic...in a good way. :) Hmmm? Maybe I should go, it could be fun to be in that environment again.

Day 2

 Well, I hate to admit it but I almost quit my training already. I know, I know, but sadly that wouldn't be a record for me. I was looking at where I am right now and comparing it to where I want to be in a little over a year and I just became incredibly discouraged. There is so much work to do and self doubt was shoving its way to the front of my thoughts. You may be asking, why do you want to subject yourself to this? Well, I'm tired of sitting around wondering where the time has gone and regretting some of the decisions I have made. It's fun to reminisce about the good old days, but sometimes I feel I get too stuck in the past and wishing I would have done things differently instead of doing something about it right now. So that's what I'm trying to do. I want to help future me rediscover the things that brought younger me joy.

Alrighty then, the workout for today was surprisingly fine. I walked with my favorite walking buddy and then I tried out the 15 minute workout I found that helps slowly build strength. Joining a gym is not an option at this point in time so I've been looking online for workouts I can do at home with minimal equipment. I found the 15 minute workout and bought some resistance bands and that was that. I took it a little easy today because the exercises are new to me and it's been a while since I've done any kind of weight or resistance training. I'm hoping I won't be sore tomorrow. Wait, is that good or bad if I am? Hmm? Not sure. I guess we'll see. 

Day 1

Today is the first day of my journey to the Senior Games 2027. Due to some injuries and bad choices, I haven't competed in sports since High School and I really miss that, especially running. So, I'm giving myself a kick in the butt, so to speak, by setting a goal and making it public. Even if no one actually reads this, there is at least the illusion of that possibility. In High School I loved Track and Field, so that is the sport I'm focusing on for the next year. And in particular, the 1500m run. I've got a lot of work to do and will need to move slowly at first to build a solid foundation. That means being much more conscientious about my food choices and eating habits, ugh! I'll also need to increase my aerobic activity, strength and flexibility. Phew! That's a lot to think about but I'm going to do this. I love running and I'm tired of waiting until tomorrow to start. So today is the day!