The break is over!

After I got back from my vacation to Chicago, I told myself that I deserved a week off from working out as a reward for all that I had accomplished. Well, that week turned into a month! Since coming back on July 2nd I have only worked out three times!! The first time, I actually ventured back into the gym. There I did 50 sit-ups, 30 squats, and attempted 5 real push-ups. Holy geeze I hurt afterwards! It took almost 4 days for my legs to feel normal again. The second time, I did the body strengthening workout at home. This time though, I alternated the moves to create a circuit. 10 sit-ups, 6 squats, and 2 “girl” push-ups – repeated 5 times. That was a pretty good workout I think. It got my heart rate up with the going up and down, but didn’t hurt as bad afterwards because I had spaced things out a bit. My third workout was on Friday, July 27th which I thought was fitting since it is exactly 1 month from my birthday and the end of my 100 mile challenge. I need a new goal – That is clear. Without that I will not have much motivation to keep to me going. So, I decided to go back to a goal that my friend Chrissy had set for us in graduate school when we briefly attempted to become joggers. Being much more athletic than I was/am she threw out the lofty goal of running a mile in 9.5 minutes. The closest I have ever gotten was a 10 minute mile. (Minus the one shining occurrence in 7th grade in which I ran a mile in 8 minutes and 11 seconds.) Since jogging for distance, I have settled relatively comfortably into a 12 minute mile pace. I think I have hit as much distance as I am going to strive for for awhile because that takes much more training time. The idea of pushing myself speed wise though, is interesting and would allow for shorter workouts. My first attempt at this went pretty darn well if I do say so myself. I ran the mile in 10 minutes and 17.93 seconds!! After that, I walked two more miles, did some lunges, and stretched a lot. Stretching is something I also need to be more careful about. Flexibility is my only natural athletic gift, but it badly needs to be nurtured. My new plan going forward is to do the squats, sit-ups, and push-ups combination daily and to run 3 days a week. We will see how that works.  To be totally honest, I haven’t tried it yet. Today is the day though! While watching TV tonight I WILL workout!