I Feel Progress...

I went to the gym last night after my grandson's t-ball game, even though I really felt like going home and snuggling up in a blanket. Our weather has been unseasonably cold here and yesterday afternoon was no exception. But, I would have let myself down and I thought I'm only cheating myself out of time at the gym. I got through my Monday Core training circuit in about 45 minutes. I have no rest periods between each exercise, so it's a good cardio workout too. The main thing I notice today is that I don't have the burning abs and painful quads that made me think I had made a mistake in cross training. The worst is usually my abs. I do approximately 100-200 reps of about 8-9 different ab crunches in each of the programs. I feel a real difference in my abs today. They are tight, but not painful and I feel no pain in my quads... and I can feel a muscle in there now!

It surprises me that I have been running since February, and yet, not be "in shape". I am beginning to realize that the core strength I am building now is going to help my running capability. Today is a running day for me at the gym, so I'm anxious to see how my abs feel while running.

One thing I am feeling proud of is how my interest in running and building a healthier body has rubbed off on my family. When I first started in February, I enlisted my oldest daughter as been my running buddy. She has two young kiddos and is a stay-at-home-mom. I thought it would be good for her to get out of the house without (and sometimes with) the kids. She has encouraged her six year old son to run with her occasionally and now he wants to run in the 5K race with us this weekend! My hubby has also jumped into the healthier living mode with us. He's going to run the 5K too, and is thinking of ways to work more exercise and better food choices into his day. It makes me happy to think I have made an impression on my family and have set a good example for my daughters and grand kids to lead healthy lives. You can't ask for much more than that.

Shelly

Living... a healthy life for all to see.
Laughing... at my core training schedule, I'm not afraid of crunches anymore!
Loving... hearing my hubby say "Wow! I'm impressed!" after our run together.