Catch-up

No, not Catsup…I wanted to try and get a second update in March so, here we go…

Obviously the 2 big stories currently at the front of my mind have been
1. Cosette’s broken arm (Wendy has good photos)
2. My sudden weight-loss and exercising inspired by giving up soda for Lent

Wendy’s got the whole scoop on Cosette, I’ve got nothing to add.

As for my changing body/lifestyle, I know I’m still in the early stages (the “Honeymoon” stage, if you will), but I think it’s good to try and ride that momentum as much as possible while you can. Also, I know you’re supposed to ease in to a workout routine when you haven’t done it in a long time, but I know me. If I just dip my toe in the water, it’s a lot less likely that I’ll actually get in the pool. I’m the kind of person that needs to just jump in the water to start swimming.

The price I pay is a bit of soreness. I only need to watch my timing and make sure I’m not too sore/stiff come moving day. (Two weeks from today!)

What I’ve been doing is 25-30 min. on a machine (elliptical or treadmill so far; there’s also a stair machine, but I’m not crazy about those). Then I move into what I consider the “fun” part: weights. It’s not just a macho thing, it’s something I have experience with and have had success with. The season I wrestled in high school was a big influence on me in this area. It was a pretty intense program, so I was doing a lot of weights, jump-roping, running, and the wrestling exercises themselves (sprawls, shots, lunges, etc.).

After that, I took Coach Orr’s weight-training class one semester, but I dropped after a month or two. I liked the weight-training part, but he made the class run around campus every time, and that did me in.

So I’m forcing myself to do the elliptical or running on the treadmill for 25-30 minutes before I get my reward of weights. I know that the cardio/resp. training is better for a well-rounded routine anyways.

Running is one of my most hated nemeses, so I was kind of surprised that not only did I not hate it when I did it this morning, I actually kind of enjoyed it! I’m looking forward to the day when I realize that this routine I’ve started is feeling easier, with less soreness. I’ve even considered getting a bike, because there are a lot of bikers around here, and nice trails for it…and it’s so gorgeous here, I’d get to spend more time outside. But I need to reach a certain fitness level before I’ll consider that.

More to come…I want to save some for another update. =)