Dad and I - Blessed

It's official, running a race you trained for is much better than doing it unprepared! I did run (and sometimes walk) the 5K and my High School reunion last month, and it was no problem! My dad actually decided to run with me and that was a neat experience. We live a long way from each other, and don't get many opportunities to do things together. I would have never guessed this would be the thing that would bring us together.

Historically, I have avoided running like the plague. And my father has had a lot of serious health issues. He was diagnosed with Leukemia six years ago, and it almost killed him. He lost about a hundred pounds, first from the illness, and then from the chemotherapy. The recovery is wonderful news, but it has been slow. I was surprised to learn recently that dad has been playing basketball again, something he hadn't done for years even before his illness. So he felt ready to do this 5K with me.

We finished the race, on a beautiful Sunday. We didn't care about winning. But I think we felt blessed to be ABLE to run, and to walk, and to live, together. 

Couch to 5K!

When I "ran" my first 5K (yes, I used quotation marks for a reason,) I didn't train at all before the race. At all! Well, I did run on a treadmill one time the week before the race. I really was not prepared. This summer I signed up to run the Mustangs in Motion 5K at my High School Alumni Reunion. The October 13th date is zooming up on me, so I decided I had better train a little bit so that things go better than last time!

The first day I ran a total of two minutes on the treadmill. I felt pretty good. The next day I ran four minutes. Thankfully someone suggested to me the Couch 2 5K program - a free app you can download onto your phone. It has made a huge difference!

I opened up the phone app on day one of my training and the app instructed me to walk briskly for five minutes, then run for 60 seconds, then walk for 90 seconds, and on and on. I walked/jogged as instructed, and watched the seconds tick down. It let me know what to do, and without killing me, pushed me a LOT harder than I had been pushing myself. At the end of the first session I was soaked in sweat and trembly. Yes, trembly. Now for all you runners out there I am sure it would be nothing. But I have done my best not to run at all for a really long time.

I was dreading day two. REally dreading it. But guess what. It was not nearly as bad! Even t hough I did the exact same training as the first session, I had already progressed! I was so excited! Today will be day four of the training, and I know it jumps up a level today. So we'll see how things go. While I still don't look forward to running, I am encouraged and know this is an accomplishment worth working for.

How do you feel about running? 

Muscle is Kind of Important

My sweet baby boy turned 1 this week! Wow! Life has certainly changed for me. I would never have been able to estimate the love I would have for him. And it seems I keep growing to love him more all the time! 

In the process of growing a baby, I gained about 75 pounds of "cushion"! A year later, I've lost 60 of those pounds. I'd like to lose about 40 more. But I want to lose the fat, not the muscle! 

I found this interesting article today showing the truth about the natural decline of muscle after we peak at age 25. Yikes! Unless we make muscle-building a priority, we lose 10% of muscle mass every decade. 

So, let's BUILD some muscle!

Calories Burned per Pound: Muscle VS Fat | Infographics