One Surprise After Another

Each day as I continue my quest on this new adventure I find myself discovering one surprise after another. This quest, the Iron Mom 1/2 Marathon in Paducah on Mother's Day weekend, has truly shown me things of myself that I wasn't completely aware of. One thing it has shown me is that I, myself, can do what I set my mind to. I have to believe in myself no matter the obstacles. This reminded me of one of my favorite quotes.

"I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time." Anna Freud (1895 - 1982)

As I train myself for this 1/2 marathon I have found this quote to be true of myself in more ways than one. This training is effecting in other parts of my life physically, mentally, & socially and all in a positive way. Who ever dreamed such a small decision could make such a difference in so many directions. But I think I'm liking it!! As I continue I hope I can get out of bed in the morning after my hour of Zumba tonight which thouroughly enojoyed but totally kicked my butt. It made muscles hurt that I didn't know I had. The best part about it was that I never felt uncomfortable while doing it. It was a very relaxed atmosphere. Until next time:

"People may not remember exactly what you did or what you said"
=But=
"They will always remember how you made them feel." (unknown)

Beautiful Day

It was a beautiful day today. It was chilly but the sun was shining bright and the sunset was awesome! I was ready to hit my workout tonight. It went pretty well. My endurance seems to be improving as I seem to be able to hold the speed longer throughout. I managed to do 3.05 miles in 60.06 minutes and burned 293 calories doing it. My blood pressure and heart rate afterwards was still great as it was 122/45 and 98. Tomorrow I won't be doing any walking as I will be experiencing my first time at Zumba. Hopefully I will be able to drive home after my intense hour workout. I'm excited to add something new. I'm going to try and workout every day this week. I will have to wait and see how I feel on Wednesday after the Zumba but hoping I can at least get some walking in. Got to get to bed so I can get rest for that Zumba tomorrow.

New Week ~ Looking Forward

I'm looking forward to the new week. New plans for my workouts. I'm going to add some extras. I'm going to do some outside and I'm going to join some friends doing Zumba a couple times a week on top of my work outs. Hopefully it will add to my endurance levels. Tonight was fair with a few interruptions. I was able to get 2.54 miles in 52 minutes and 14 seconds and burn 247 calories. My blood pressure and heart were great afterwards @ 123/77 & 87. I was able to run more tonight in my workout which I liked. I hated having to stop before I was really ready but nature was calling at the most inconvenient time I decided it was the perfect stopping time. Again the exercise has made me feel better physically as in I'm sleeping better and I feel better about myself. Thanks to everyone for the positive thoughts and comments.

WOW! What a workout!

I was ready to workout tonight. I was excited how well I did last night. I thought I could push it a little more tonight. Why not? So I managed to burn 300 calories as I walked 3.15 miles in 60 minutes & 10 seconds. My blood pressure & heart rate afterwards not bad at all, 111/75 & 89. I think this workout thing is agreeing with me at the moment anyway. I got to thinking once I got done. 1/2 marathon is 13.1 miles and if I can do 3 miles in 60 minutes that mean if I could keep the same pace today and participate tomorrow 12 miles in 4 hours would be close. I would have to make up 1.1 miles. My thought behind all of this is that I still have 6 weeks of workout before the race meaning my goal is definitely very reachable! That gets me even more excited!

Paul made the mistake tonight on the way home from Paducah during a discussion saying to me "if you do that marathon in"..... I had to stop him. I don't even remember what the conversation was about only because he used the word "IF". I told him to re-word to "when" I do the marathon.... He did change the sentence. Again don't remember what it was about. Still have doubt on this side of the block that I can't do it. hmmmmm....... Hopefully this weekend I will become an officially registered participant.

BEEN AWHILE

I was down for a few days thanks to not taking my medicine correctly so that meant not being able to workout. Nothing like frustration but at least it is in the beginning of my process instead of the end and I should know better anyway. Hopefully I am back on track now and am feeling better than before actually. I was going to add a little to my workout this week as I was going to start Zumba with Whitney yesterday but decided to delay it a week since I was still down yesterday.

The good news for my workout today is that I decided to focus a little more on time than distance and decided to shoot for 45 minutes at the pace I was used to before I got sick. Believe it or not it worked. I actually didn't really get tired or even break a sweat until well into the workout more on the down hill swing. Which makes me wonder if I shouldn't push a little harder. When I got to 45 minutes I wasn't ready to quit so I decided I would shoot for 60. Now the last 10 minutes I had to push myself at the same time reminding myself I hadn't done the first workout in more than 4 days. I managed to workout for 60.09 minutes, went 2.72 miles, burned 271 calories. My blood pressure and heart rate afterwards was awesome. It was 109/70 and 93. I wish it was always that good. I'm thinking I should be able to do 3 miles in 60 minutes tomorrow. Hopefully anyway. I'm excited about starting Zumba next Tuesday.

Day 3 ~ What a Day!

I haven't decided if the day has been so great because I have had 3 days off from work, or it was 76 today when I drove by the temperature reading, or I went to Paducah to get parts for my wheeler (getting time for riding), or while I was in Paducah went down to the flood wall where I will take on my 1st 1/2 marathon. I believe it was a mixture of all of it. I forgot and I had a completely awesome workout tonight! I decided since I felt so good to push it to the limit a little. I managed 2.02 miles in 40.42 minutes which I burned 196 calories. It was obvious that I pushed a little because my blood pressure was 130/81 with a pulse of 104 which is fine but up a little with the pushing. I was even able to run in the middle of it some and I ran towards the end some. My feet didn't start feeling a burning sensation until I got to 1.65 miles and it was slightly and not constant so I knew I could keep going for a while. I listened to some really upbeat music while I was walking that helped. Nothing like my 80's music to keep me going. It was cool going down to the flood wall today that is where the race will begin and I believe will finish. Right now much of it is under water. It is almost to the park benches on the water side of the wall. It was so beautiful down there with the Dogwoods blooming. Now it is time for some rest as we have Whitney's 1st Bridal shower tomorrow here in Kentucky. It should be fun and exciting. See you all tomorrow. Thanks for all the positive comments and vibes.

Day 2 ~ also included workout #2

I woke up slightly stiff which actually isn't unusual thanks to the Rheumatoid. As the day progressed I began to feel what I had done the day before. However, still determined I did my workout which to some is probably considered light but for me who is used to no workout is a lot. I managed to walk 1.6 miles at a fairly decent speed on the Nordic Trac in 33:05 and burned 155 calories. I actually worked up a sweat tonight and again was able to jog a little. It was less tonight than last night as my muscles started to burn and I didn't want to overdue it. I walked with weights in my hands again. I really didn't think I would notice much but my arms are actually sore today from those weights so I'm glad that I did that also. I decided I would also check my blood pressure and pulse when I finished each time to make sure that all looks good. Which confirmed what I thought was good 125/73 with 108 pulse which is good because it doesn't take much for me to run 90's low 100's. When I get worked up my pulse is faster than that. I'm sure I will be more sore tomorrow but hope to continue and maybe gain at least another tenth of a mile. Lots to do tomorrow as I prepare for Whitney's 1st wedding shower on Saturday but will fit my workout in.

Workout #1

Well, my 1st workout wasn't bad. We will see how I feel in the morning. I didn't want to overdue it but on the other hand I don't have a lot of time. I haven't done much of any type of exercise for the last year due to not feeling well and wonderful health issues including a new diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis. I have decided I'm not going to let it rule my life. I walked on the treadmill for 1.5 miles in 33 minutes and burned 150 calories. I actually was able to jog a small bit of that and I mean a small bit. But I'm trying to draw the positive out of it and I was at least able to do a small bit which was better than nothing for my 1st day. I'm sure I will sleep well tonight. I also carried the small weights in my hands while I walked to help stengthen my arms. Again when Paul walked in from worked he said you really should start with something small. I said you still don't think I can do it. I will do this and I will finish.
My moto:Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
Thomas A. Edison (1847 - 1931)

The beginning

I happen to see an article on West Kentucky Star about the Iron Mom 1/2 Marathon in Padcuah http://www.westkentuckystar.com/News/Local---Regional/McCracken-County/The-Mom-Behind-the-Paducah-Iron-Mom-Half-Marathon- and was reading to my husband and mentioned I should try to do that. It would give me something to work for and then I would for sure be able to fit in my dress for Whitney's wedding. His response was, "you should start with something smaller like a few miles." It pissed me off and I told him so. It made me even more to want to do it. So I told him I was going to no matter what I was entering the 1/2 marathon and I was going to work for it just because he doesn't think I can do it. No it won't be easy nothing good in life is easy but it is a goal that I can set for myself and work for and achieve all on my own and show everyone else that I can do it even though I'm 45, a grandma with Rheumatoid Arthritis, overweight, out of shape. I will finish I have to finish in 4 hours and in the mean time I will fit into my dress for my daughter's wedding 2 weeks later after the 1/2 marathon. I will keep you posted and today begins my training on my own.