Workouts & Goals

Well, it's 8:45am and today's workout is already done. Actually, it was done about an hour and a half ago....that's right...I woke up this morning and worked out super-early!!! 6 AM! And just so you know, I am NOT a morning person....at all...not even a little bit. Haley and I are going to try this morning thing once or twice a week. It is really nice to have it done and I may even go for a walk/jog this afternoon!

Okay, speaking of jogging, for the longest time...like years...there has been one thing that I have wished I could do...RUN. I've had actual dreams about it....seriously...but, because I was being a big fatty, running or jogging was really painful. I've always had issues with my shins, but being super-fat and pounding my legs into the ground, made my shins feel like they were splintering into toothpicks with every step whether I was walking or running, not to mention that my knees also felt like they may just snap in two at any moment. Anyway, I have this goal to be able to run...I don't care if I run fast or slow and I'm not trying to run marathons, I just want to be able to put on my shoes and jog for a few miles; soooo I 've been doing some work to achieve my goal and I am happy to say that it's starting to pay off! Usually, for our warm-up, Haley and I do "burst-training" on the treadmill. "Burst-training" is short sprints, usually lasting about 30 seconds to a minute, followed by a 1-2 minute rest...we do this for around 15-20 mins. Since we've been doing this, I've noticed that I no longer get shin splints when I walk and I get them less frequently when I am running or jogging. I still can't run for very long without pain, but it's getting better. Today, instead of sprinting, I tried jogging. I jogged for about a minute then walked, and then jogged for two minutes and walked for one...I repeated this a few times. I still had some pain in my shins but it went away as soon as I stopped jogging...usually my shins would throb for awhile after I stopped running or walking so I'm making progress (I'm sure the -40 pounds has A LOT to do with my progress, as well!) To challenge myself, I've decided to sign up for the Crescent City Fall Classic (5K) in New Orleans this November and my goal is to be able to run at least half of it. I figure if I stick to my training plan and keep losing weight, it is definitely do-able! Also, my sister and I want to do the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February and I would like to be able to run at least 1/2 of that too! So there, additional goal to losing weight: BECOME A RUNNER (or at least a slow jogger...).