Thursday, December 29, 2011

C25K

So......Spring was great, Fall was great, Winter is great so far. Now that we are all caught up, I'll share my latest endeavor. C25K. "Couch to 5K". Yikes! I heard about this program a few years ago and thought it was a great idea. I have had a few babies in that time, and have been thinking recently about what I want to do to get back into shape.
Information and glowing testimonials about C25K came my way again a few weeks ago, and I have been considering it. C25K is a plan for becoming fit through running, using an interval training plan. The first week involves warm up/cool down, and in the middle 20 minutes you alternate jogging for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds. This plan is meant to be moved through slowly. It is for people who mostly sit on the couch. And also for people who run after little children a lot, and sit on the couch a little to read stories, fold laundry, and nurse babies. It has never been one of my life's dreams to run a marathon or even a 5K or anything, but at this point in time it is my life's dream to feel like I'm living in my own skin again.
Monday struck me as a good day to start, but then it began to rain. People run in the rain all the time,and it was "warm" outside that day so hubby and I agreed I should still go for it. We live in the woods now, with only a few flat areas on our property. "The meadow" seemed like a good place to run around in circles for 20 minutes, so that's where I headed. I forgot to take along any kind of timing device, but figured I could just count out the time, and it would be close enough. The whole experience on my own "mini-grassland-track" was GREAT! I felt the burn a little, but was not too wiped out, and overall felt very confident. When Wednesday dawned sunny, and again "warm" I was excited to execute C25K - Day 2. Little did I know that C25K - Day 2 was excited to execute me! I remembered my phone to use as a stopwatch this time, and quickly realized that my counting during the previous workout may have been a bit short. Like half of what it should have been. Oops.
Being the flat area that it is, the meadow was quite muddy after the early-week rains. So after a few times around, I decided to hit the trails that my hubby has cleared through our woods. Did I say our property is mostly hills? I ran downhill like a champion. I walked the rest of the way down the trail like a champion who is walking for 90 seconds. Then, my 90 seconds, and the trail ended simultaneously! I jogged uphill for 60 seconds after that, but barely. For the next several intervals I worked through the trails trying to time it so that I could walk uphill and jog downhill. I completed most of the workout in this way, and when the meadow came into sight again, it was so beautiful. So flat, and beautiful, and flat. I was on a 60 second jog at that point, but I really believe it was more of an enthusiastic walk. Not an Olympic race-walker strutting his/her flag around the arena type of enthusiasm. It was more the kind of enthusiasm with which a small animal tries to free itself from death or maiming from a stealthily set trap. C25K- Day 2 was way harder than Day 1. My bad. Day one should have been just as hard. Day 3 will be tomorrow or Saturday. I will do it. I will not die. Philippians 4:13 right? :) I'll have my trusty cell phone with me. So, you know, if anybody wants to call me and cheer me on.... that's cool. Or I can just keep time with it. :)

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Spring

I drove to town yesterday to exchange size 1 diapers for size 2's for my 3 week old daughter. Yep... she's a whopper!
So she and I were truckin' along, and as we crested a hill, I saw out into the corn fields and pastures at the top of our road. The golden skim of early sunset played with the green of tiny buds and new leaves. "Spring is really here." With that thought, came the most unexpected sense of relief. I had to question myself.... Did I really think it would be winter forever? Ummmm maybe.
We started the winter off by totaling our minivan in a frightening three-car accident. Then it snowed, and snowed, and snowed. And snowed. We are snow-loving people, but enough is enough for a midwestern state!
While the snow piled up, the inches and pounds piled on my pregnant body. My sweet tooth lost the battle against the holidays. My due date came and then flitted away, smiling and laughing at me. Five days later, my precious giganto-baby was born.
I'm not complaining about any of these events. They just happened. It's how the winter was this time around. No big deal. But I think there was a subtle oppression; depression maybe?; a thin veil; or cloudiness over me. Maybe a crazy, teeny part of me really didn't think Spring would come again.
But God is good like that.... keeping the world turning, and the seasons changing and all. I'm praising Him for that. I'm praising Him for new life in the land, and in our family, and for all the wonderful things this Spring and Summer hold in store for us.