Pete and Re-Pete

Sometimes when you are the mother of young children it takes everything you have to get just one thing accomplished. After starting the C25K on Sunday, while at my mother-in-law's, who was awesome enough to hang with my kids while I went outside for my first session, my next day should have been Tuesday. Back at home, just me and kids. So when Nico (3yr) woke up at 4 am with a fever all of my Tuesday plans shifted. No pre-k, no grocery shopping, no gym in the morning. I knew that on Wednesday I had to do whatever it took to get my session in or risk losing momentum, because I am just starting out and I am not sure that I have enough momentum yet to handle too many setbacks.

So the boyz didn't get up until NINE-FORTY! Then my mp3 player wouldn't load so that I could add the week-one podcast. But I finally got it on the phone. We made it to the Y. I did my next session. Today's mission accomplished.

It felt good.

Physically, it did not feel great. I am WAY overweight, and my body needs to be lighter before it won't feel like carrying around a ton of pointy bricks. But I did it. And in time not only do I plan to get lighter, but my bones and muscles will be stronger. But my lungs felt good, and my heart felt good, and the rest will come in time.

Motivationally, the podcast is the key. When I timed myself on Sunday, I was convinced that I could not do quite as much as was asked. I lengthened the recovery session from 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Today, with Robert Ullrey's C25K Podcasts, I did it along with the script and nice running music. Plus ESPN to watch on the TV while I ran. Delight! The pre-recorded timings keep you trying, encouraging you to succeed.

Mentally, another perk became clear to me while I was jogging/walking (j/w). Lately I have several conflicting cravings. Craving to get more done around the house, more research and reading, more stitching, sewing & crafting, more time with adults making and keeping friendships, and more time to just think. Often I think I view the time at the gym as social time, but I leave feeling empty in this regard, because even though I am Zumba-ing with other people, it's not like you are really chatting it up with your fellow exercisers. I love Zumba, but the exercise time itself is still not truly social, at least not deeply. J/W time, however, is intensely personal. The music washes over you, and, whatever else you may be hearing or watching, your thoughts have a chance to bubble to the surface. I think this mindset might also be able to improve my Zumba experience.

I still don't know when I will be ready to move on to Week 2, but at least I did 1.1 for realz, and on Friday I will do 1.2. Run and Re-run, until I am ready to take on the next level.

Now I just have to decide what to do about my eating habits!