I'm slacking off on the blog. I knew that I would, although I do have a valid excuse, I think. Me and Jasie are working on a very big project that's literally getting bigger every hour. That's what it feels like, at any rate. For every one thing we finish, we seem to find 5 more things to do. But we're very dedicated and we're working hard, and we might have something to show for it one day. I hope. 

Today it was cloudy all day, but I decided I needed to get out of the house. I walked an extra block today, bringing my total up to 1.5 miles. Just as I rounded our corner, the hail started. I was lucky that I was so close to the house when it started because there was some pretty hard wind and thunder. Thunder in early March. Very strange. 

My legs keep getting tight/crampy. It happens after about a mile, like I just can't go any further. But I do, or I stop and I stretch and it eases up a bit. I feel like if I had a bit of good weather and stronger muscles I could easily do two miles. 

I didn't work out yesterday. Which means I didn't get my walk either. Mainly because of the aforementioned project. But I won't miss it tomorrow. I need to build these muscles!

Distance: 1.5
Time: 26:00 

Oh, I've been absolutely pants at keeping this updated. I don't know, sometimes I just lose interest in things. That's not to say I haven't been walking. I went on two shortish walks on Sunday that may or may not have added up to a mile, but they were nice and the weather was good. Actually the first walk was around my mom's block with her dogs. The dogs were very happy to get out and stretch their legs and smell new smells. Mom never walks them. I wish she would. I think it would do all three of them some good. 

Monday was walk and weight training day. I tried to keep the treadmill at a brisk pace for the full duration, walking at 2.8 mph for the first 10 minutes. I had to slow down due to feeling some tightness in my calves, but I think that shows some definite improvement, since 2.8 used to be my max speed I built up to, not my starting speed. 

Today I took Jaime Sugar House. Now, I thought the loop was 2.5 miles. Maybe it is and we just took the wrong route or something. Anyway, we did do the full loop and it was 1.5. But the nice thing is that by the time we were done, despite the MASSIVE hills, I felt absolutely fine. Like a mile and a half was nothing. I did have to stop once to stretch my legs because they were threatening to cramp. Maybe I need to get more water and potassium? Maybe I should start taking a multi-vitamin. 

The callus on my foot is peeling and there seems to be new blisters forming. That's bad. But strangely enough, when I'm actually walking, it doesn't really bother me. Still, I'm going to trim the skin away and soak it in Epsom salt tonight. 

My weight hasn't really been moving this week, which is a good reminder that I shouldn't weigh myself every day. It'll just annoy/frustrate me. I should weigh myself on Saturdays right before I take my progress picture. On the other hand, when I looked at myself in the mirror, I really noticed a difference today. I did take my husband to lunch and probably got a few more carbs than normal, but I ordered eggs Benedict with Salmon and I didn't eat the muffins or the homefries with it. 

Note to self: Must learn how to poach eggs. 

I can't believe I've been doing this for three weeks! It is starting to feel like a regular part of my routine now, and I do have the sense that I'm much happier now that it's a regular part of my life. Like I said yesterday, I didn't even want to walk at all, but in the end the need for that twenty minutes of physical activity trumped my laziness. 

I did hope to be walking further distances by this point, though I feel confident that I can do two miles outside, and as soon as it stops snowing, I'll be happy to prove that. The 1.65 miles around the park goes pretty easily. I'm still looking forward to the 2.5 miles around the Sugarhouse Park. If the weather isn't completely shitty on Tuesday, I think that will be my first attempt. Jaime will be with me, and he's pretty good about keeping me focused on the task. 

Today was weight training day. I guess on weight training day I should just make peace with the fact that I will be spending a full 90 minutes downstairs. It doesn't feel like 90 minutes, though, and I suppose that's a different sort of progress. I remember when I did this in high school, I had a handy worksheet I kept track of all my sets and reps and weights. It might behoove me to start doing that again. Jaime claims he's keeping track, but who knows what he's doing. He's very secretive. 

I'd like to go to the park tomorrow afternoon. It might be a little overcast and blustery, but that's fine. 

I'll be updating the progress page with a new picture and my total weight loss later this evening. 

My post is late but I did get my walk in today! I was really feeling lazy and didn't make an effort to do it during the day. Then I was going to do it when Jaime got home, but it was too cold to go to the park and we ended up getting dinner instead. Then we played Upwords, and I did some writing, and at 11:30 I realized I'd better get my ass in gear. I have to teach my body that it can't get away with being lazy. There's just not enough time for that sort of bullshit. 

Anyway, I know I've really got to step up my game. By now I should be concentrating on doing a full two miles a day. I have a massage scheduled for tomorrow. If it's not snowing/windy/subzero temperatures, I might walk. It's only about a mile away, and I think I can handle that easily enough. Of course, if it's snowing by the time I finish my massage, I'll be fucked, because there's nobody to come and pick me up. 

We shall see! 

Distance: 1.00 
Time: 24:00 

Today was a weight training day, so I went down to the basement at 5 so I could get my mile in before Jaime got home. He met me downstairs and we ended up going through the whole hour-long ordeal. Seriously, I didn't hit the showers until after 6:30. 

I was tired and a little bit winded at the end, but I feel pretty good. My muscles aren't too sore, though I expect I will be feeling it in the morning. It's nice though, to work out and not feel like absolute shit afterwards. 

It's supposed to be snowy and cold this weekend, which bums me out. I think it's worse on the treadmill because I'm watching that clock the whole time. I'm deeply aware of every second that's passed. I measure my walks with my phone when I'm out, but I don't pay any attention to the distance or how much time it's been until the end. Time moves much, much slower in the basement. I think that's what is deterring me from doing two miles on the treadmill.

It was finally nice enough to want to venture outside today. A miracle! It's not exactly warm out there. The temperature is in the high 30s, but it's not very windy and the sun is shining. I decided to alter my route slightly and made a big circle to get a big more distance. I felt the tightening in my calves again, but the bottom of my feet seem to be doing much, much better. The giant blister finally turned into a giant callus and now I don't feel nearly as uncomfortable when I'm walking. I can't wait for the day that I can do two miles without a twinge of discomfort. As excited as I am about the progress I'm making, I wish I could just skip all the sucky parts and get right to the triumphant parts. Where's my inspirational 80s music with driving guitar solos?! I want my sports montage! 

Time: 26:00
Distance: 1.5 

A bit better time and distance wise. Now to go scrounge up some food, clean the kitchen, and run to the store. 

Today I needed to do laundry, so I carried the load downstairs, put it in, set up the machine, and then went into the next room to do my walk. When I returned after precisely 25 minutes, it was only to discover that I never pushed start! This is the second time I've done that with those washers. I'm not sure what my problem is. Contrary to popular opinion around here, I do know how to do laundry and operate washing machines. Though I guess you'd never know it by how spacey I am every time I try to do laundry. 

At any rate, I decided to make good use of my extra 25 minutes downstairs, and I also did my weight lifting and my core exercises. My feet aren't too sore, and I don't feel all stiff and yucky. Slowly but surely I am making progress, I think. Though tomorrow I have to stop being so lazy and go to the grocery store, since even though our fridge appears to be full, we're essentially out of everything. 

One thing I'm noticing is that I'm really losing my appetite. It's not just that I'm not hungry most of the time--I just had a small bowl of bran cereal in almond milk because I figured I ought to eat something today--it's that I can't think of anything I WANT to eat. Which I suppose is good, in a way. It's nice that food isn't the center of my world. But also inconvenient in a way, because I can't just not eat. But when I already don't feel hungry AND there's nothing I feel like putting in my mouth, it's easier to just say "Fuck it, I've got plenty of reserves." At any rate, tonight I'm going to have a feast of protein. 

Time: 24:00
Distance: 1.00 

Addendum: When Jaime got home, he wanted to go for another walk. And since I really want to up my miles to 2 per day, I got on my shoes and headed out into the bitter wind. I think it went pretty well. I don't feel exhausted, my calves didn't get tight, and I feel like I can easily do this again tomorrow. Hopefully I still feel this way in the morning! 

Time: 24:00 (I know, it's weird)
Distance: 1.00 

Today was a trip to the park with Jaime and Lindy. About 1/4 of the way through the walk, my calves started to get super tight. I actually was afraid I might get cramps. We paused so I could stretch my legs. After that, it wasn't so bad. I guess this is a good reminder that I need to start stretching. On the bright side, the blisters aren't so tender. Maybe at some point this week, I can have stretched calves and no blisters. I'll keep my fingers crossed. 

I need to go do my weight training tomorrow. I need to get some muscle tone! 

Time: 25:00
Distance: 1.5 

Week 2 didn't have a 7th day because between work and a family emergency, I didn't get a real walk in. I did walk, however. Probably about a half mile, so at least I did something to remain active. But since I didn't measure/time it, I decided not to count it formally. Also I was too tired last night to write up a proper post. 

I was going to skip today. The weather was crappy and I didn't feel like going down to the treadmill. I thought I could probably even justify it to myself. So I did some work and some writing, ignoring the twinge from my tightening muscles throughout the day. But when I realized my feet were swollen, I realized that I didn't have the luxury of missing a day. So even though it was eleven, I changed, put on my shoes, and headed downstairs. 

Time just drags on that treadmill. Since there's no school/work tomorrow, I'm hoping the weather will improve enough to allow a trip to the park. I'd love to make another attempt at two miles, especially since the blister on my left foot is no longer tender and seems to be well on its way to being a callus. 


I did update my progress page today with another photo. Unlike last week, there seems to be a definite difference this week. I was always really shy about photographing my progress, let alone posting those pictures, but now I see that the photographs can be hugely encouraging.  I want to pretend that things like inches and pounds aren't so important, that what matters is reaching my goal of 36 miles and feeling better, but that's bologna. 

I want to look good and feel good. I'm going to focus on both. 

Time: 25:00 
Distaince: 1.01 

Today was the much anticipated doctor's appointment. And I've lost 12 pounds! I feel like there wasn't much progress to track in the first week, but I think the picture I take tomorrow will show a real difference around the waist. So that's four pounds a week. I know I shouldn't obsess over numbers, but keeping that in mind will be strong motivation when I feel like cheating. Which isn't often. But it's also a good reminder that if I have the occasional slice of pizza or cheeseburger, it's not the end of the world. 

There are more blisters, but I also have blister bandaids now, so that's good. I'm going to the park on Monday. I hope that I can do a full two miles then. 

Distance: 1.00
Time: 20:00