Hey there, I just got home from the gym! This morning I went to the track here at the good old BYU-I center. It's a nice indoor track and I like exercising there. I am on week 5 of my Cto5K (Couch to 5K). This week is a big step up. Day 1 in the week, you walk 5, jog 5, walk 3, jog 5, walk 3, walk 5 (the first and last 5 minutes are warm up and cool down). That was Monday and today was Day 2 for this week which is, walk 5 (warm up), then jog 8, walk 5, jog 8 and then on to the 5 min cool down. On Friday it will be walk 5 (warm up), then jog 20 with no walking and then a 5 min cool down - I am scared...but excited. This does not sound impressive to people who are runners, or naturally athletic or under the age of 25. Maybe this doesn't sound impressive to anyone...but it is a big accomplishment for me.I remember a different life when I was an athlete. Most of my friends don't know that I was a competitive swimmer for the majority of my young life. Actually...I still hold records at a few swim clubs in Utah, which is kind of a fun thing. You know, one of those things where you show your kids and they ask if that was really you or just someone who had your name. I wonder why it is so hard for them to believe...oh yeah...I have a different life now and do not look or act like an athlete. I remember when I was in college and I would jog. I didn't have to slowly and gradually get myself in shape enough to run for 30 minutes...I could just do it.
But that was a different life, a different season.
For the past several years I have had some health problems that really have prevented me from getting into a good exercise routine. (Maybe someday I can talk about that - it might be healing...I wonder). I would get so mad at myself that I just didn't seem to have enough will power to make it happen. I began to think of myself as pretty much an unmotivated slob. Eventually I realized that it was not just a matter of my mental inability, but that there was something physically wrong, a few things actually. I am in the process of trying to get better physically. I have mentioned before that since June of 2011 I have had 2 major surgeries. Both of these surgeries require a long recovery period and I have been told it takes at least a year to feel like you are 100% again after these procedures. So...I am only 8 months out from the second and the fact that I have actually begun an exercise program and have been able to stick with it and not fall apart is pretty exciting for me. I wonder if I will ever really be 100% again and honestly, I don't even know what that would be. I am now in my late 30s and I don't even know what 100% for someone at my age and stage is! I don't know if I will ever again feel like I have the energy to get everything done. Maybe that is OK. Maybe I am just in yet another season of life, but this one looks and feels better to me than the season of physical illness I have been passing through. For now, I'm just glad that I can say that I am just home from the gym - tired, but happy.
