The weird thing about having your kid out of the house 5 days a week is that your house starts to feel really big and empty. Big, empty, and sad. The peace and quiet is very nice but I really have struggled with Thomas being gone SO LONG. And since I can't self-start a pregnancy and speed up the gestation time to oh, two months, I figured I had to DO SOMETHING besides go to the library and also the grocery store. Don't get me wrong, I try to take my two long days and do those errands or personal shopping that still seems impossible with Thomas along. (Like the library - he has no patience for Mama looking for books.) I like to hit up all the antique shops, absolutely, but a woman can only shop so much before she runs out of money.
It was time to start exercising. Like, seriously. Especially as I would really like to get pregnant in the next year (we'll see) and I absolutely refuse to be this weight and then add pregnancy weight to it. I don't want to have major health complications or be in another stratosphere of uncomfortableness. The last pregnancy stratosphere was nearly unbearable, thankyouverymuch. So, I have mini goals in mind. The overall plan is to weigh less than I did when I got pregnant with Thomas, and then to keep exercising until I just can't move anymore. I'm sure you've heard about the lady who ran/walked a marathon at 39 weeks pregnant. I'm not saying I would do that (I am still boggled at HOW. JUST HOW?) but I will use it as motivation to walk around the block whenever possible.
Plus, I think it would be super funny to be shaking my stuff in Zumba with a pregnant belly.
I wanted to get back into Couch to 5k for some time now. I was kinda sad with myself for quitting right when I got to the 20 minute runs - not that I couldn't do it! It just collided with the holidays and then I lost my momentum. I'm still really loving Zumba, which I started doing back in January or February. So I decided my goal would be walk/running Monday/Wednesday/Friday and then Zumba on Tuesday/Thursday. A whole FIVE DAYS OF EXERCISE. Something I have never done in my life!
The thing with a plan of FIVE DAYS OF EXERCISE is that if you miss even one day, guess what? You still did great. FOUR DAYS OF EXERCISE! That's not too shabby, y'all. Still more than I've ever done.
This time around, though, I decided I would try to run outside. I didn't want to drive all the way to the Y just to run on the treadmill, and then come home again. The weather started cooling down and it was do-able. Our new neighborhood has real sidewalks and also some walking/running trails. The main road is also straight and flat (from our end) and Beaux says he sees tons of people running when he leaves for work (which is right when we're waking up at 6 AM). There has also been some construction of running trails in our town, so if I get real adventurous, I can change locations when boredom sets in.
So I began, really, at the beginning of this month. I skipped over Week 1 of Couch to 5K because I knew I could handle starting a little later. Like, the end of week 2 or so. Today I'm starting week 6 so I'm really proud of my commitment so far. I haven't skipped any running days that I can recall. Doing Zumba with legs that are sore from running is a different story, but once or twice I have given my legs a rest and done my Body by Bethenny DVD at home. Then I end up sore in all new places!
Somewhere along the way, I realized that learning to exercise outside was one of the best gifts I've given myself. I am one of those people who is happy to stay inside with my air-conditioning at all times. (Or right now, since we have actual cold weather in the mornings, inside in my cozy pajamas.) But by forcing myself to be in the sunshine and fresh air, now I can't imagine motivating myself to exercise on a treadmill. Oh, I could do it if it was storming or when the weather heats back up again, but one the things I love best is the time under the trees, smelling freshly cut grass or whatever nature wants to waft my way. I feel so grateful and downright lucky to be me in those moments. I'm also hoping that being out in the sunshine will help keep any SAD at bay.
Now if I could just work up my courage to run around the neighborhood, you know? There are a lot of HILLS in our neighborhood, but I think I could figure out a do-able route. I am nervous about running on sidewalks and people backing out of their driveways and not seeing me. I am also nervous about water, where would I put my water? I'm almost to the point where I don't HAVE to have water since it's not hot at all, but I like to have the option. Also, there's always crews of guys working on yards or house repairs and it makes me feel embarrased to think about running past them. I am not the hot housewife in a pink jogging suit like on the Mayhem commercials, you know?
