Liz W. is my hero.

I'm back in the game.

Thanks to Liz, I think I'm onto something that works. She sent me a video that gives advice on stretches AND workouts to strengthen the muscles needed to stabilize the joints. I dove right in Tuesday night.
   Wednesday I got back to C25K!! Week 1, Day 1.  Cory went with me. And I completed it!! My knee only started to twinge a little in the last couple of sets of jogging. I tried to do some stretching, but the workouts weren't happening. I was SORE from the night before. I was going to try to push through it that night, but we had a family dinner out for my older brother's birthday.

Today, I had a lot of errands to do in anticipation for relatives coming in to town (more birthday celebrations) and a bridal shower for my brother's fiance on Saturday.

But tonight I did the stretches and workout, and I didn't have any knee pain all day, even on stairs. Yippee!

Next week Cory and I are trying a vegetarian week. I intend on updating about how it goes.

Encouragement

So, I have continued to be grumpy about the whole not having a good routine thing, and trying to add too much at once. But I have seen improvement! So yesterday I was just feeling like, "ok, I guess now I'll do this" This being whatever chore I saw at the moment, or activity I could come up with, but I just felt like I was killing time until Cory got home, which is just no way to spend every day. Plus it makes time go SO slowly and makes any productivity seem I dunno... minimized. Plus it sounds really lame to just be waiting for my boyfriend to get home from work and not have anything of my own going on. At the same time, I don't really have much going on right now- most people I know work, and I don't have a lot of disposable income, being unemployed and all. When I was in NC, I always had people around, and there was a lot on my plate with the program so I didn't have time enough to get bored. Before that, I was so exhausted and depressed all the time that I literally only counted TV and sleeping as hobbies. So it's been from one extreme to the other. And now I'm trying to find a balance while I wait for a job to pan out. 

Yesterday I narrowed it down to my routine foundation: shower early and don't lay around in pjs for half the day, make the bed, and take care of the dishes/ clean the kitchen sink. Both the bed and the sink are things that drive me crazy if they aren't done, but also I dread doing for some reason. By setting those as the routine, anything else I do I can feel productive about because the "I should"s no longer hold me back. For example, if I think I should exercise every day, get all the laundry done, have a spotless apartment, cook, budget, read, etc, then when I do any of those things, I'll still feel behind and like I haven't accomplished anything. So now when I get my list done, I can say, oh good, Check! And the other things I can give myself a pat on the back for and not stress that I'm not on the perfect schedule yet. I made a checkbox grid for the week for it, with a spot to write in extras I do that I want to add in the routine at some point, but for now just give myself credit for them. I think two weeks is a good amount of time between each add-on. I am rambling, so for that I apologize.

My success for today! : I did some stretching of the tendons that give me trouble, and then figured I'd look through my yoga book. I realized I hate down dog. I am so inflexible and it makes feel like a failure, plus it is really uncomfortable, I look mangled, and it hurts my wrists. But I found a routine that doesn't require it! Another bonus, it is for anxiety (allegedly) and I can use all the help with that I can get. I was able to do all the poses enough to feel like I did the routine, but also that I still need a lot of work to do it well and like as I get better it will improve my abilities overall! I don't think I phrased that well, but whatever. It stretched my muscles and challenged me without hurting quite as badly as some poses. Here is a picture from the book:

Now that I don't feel like I should have to exercise every day, and now that I found yoga I can work on, I actually WANT to do it again tomorrow! :)

Trying to jump back on....

Alright.  I've been the biggest slacker the past few weeks.  The first week I was back home from all the craziness of summer, I had this stupid cough.  And I was still SUPER tired from, again, the crazy summer.  So sleep whenever possible was on the menu.  Then the cough didn't go away the next week.  And then I just got complacent.  I haven't been able to get back on a normal sleep schedule so that I'm not exhausted every day, and my energy level has been really low.  Ugh.

But today I burned some calories!

I did my work out video today and I'm really happy about that haha.  Henry the pug was adorable and just say next to me for a while and then got bored and moved to couch and watched me a bit sadly/disdainfully.  But I did it!  It was harder than before, but that's only because it's been so long since I last worked out.

I'm really glad I got off my butt.  I just need to keep this going because my body needs it, dang it.  So here's to keeping the energy going!!

HONK!

Spending Energy to Make Energy

Busy seems to be a common theme around here! I've just been in the midst of moving too, and wow, is that process exhausting! I'm excited about my new job, so this helped me to maintain some momentum all along - packing up my Savannah apartment and getting out of it (during which I accidentally stabbed myself in the arm with my pocket knife, which resulted in an ER visit, a tetanus booster, a heavy course of antibiotics and pain meds, and three whole stitches); getting into the new place (it's furnished already, and boy, do I have a ton of crap); and beginning to unpack all these boxes. 

Now though, I think I've definitely hit a lull after all the hubbub. I'm once again thankful for little Boo, who insists on at least three, one-mile walks a day. Today, I've already walked him at 6a and again at 10a. I think he likes SSI. :) I can't believe how devoid of physical energy I am. It's like moving lead. And getting any speed or heartrate increase? Forget about it! It's all I can do to put one foot in front of the other. But I've done it, and I keep telling myself that if I keep it up, exerting the energy will yield an overall energy increase. Just wish that increase would hurry the hell up.

I also need to confess that I've been eating so horribly that I pretty much disgust myself. Little victories though: I finally dragged my butt to the Publix to do that initial I-just-moved-and-have-to-restock-my-cabinets grocery trip. There is fruit! There are vegetables! There is hope!

Prayers for all of you during these new fall beginnings!

Boy, was I in a bad mood today. I am not sure what did it. Actually, I think it was that I am trying to establish too many new things in my routine at one time. Exercise, eating healthily, but also cooking, budgeting, new cleaning routine since I'm in a new place, and flossing my teeth (no clue why I can't seem to get that one to stick. Sigh). I guess I'm just overwhelmed and feeling like I'm not being consistent with anything, even though I'm dabbling in all of those things.

Cory interrupted me yesterday when I was writing to watch a movie, so where my head's at has shifted, naturally. Also, I am aware of the grammar monstrosity of that last sentence. :).

Moving on. Cory and I took a walk yesterday instead of starting C25K. I had this strange ankle pain I'd never had before, I was grumpy, I hadn't stretched my IT band or hip flexors like I'd planned and just felt discouraged overall. I didn't want to get out there and have to quit on account of my tendons. And I knew that was a real possibility based on the fact that they will get inflamed if I walk too much. So even though I haven't been running in forever, I've had little reminders from my joints that they will throw a full on tantrum if I try.

Anywho. The walk was great, and by the end of it my ankle felt healed! Which was surprising because I had been walking inside all day and it seemed to be getting worse to the point that I was limping when the walk started. It was nice to be outside and nice to have real time with Cory, without the numbing of the tv and Internet.

Unfortunately, I think we will have to have separate workout schedules. I really prefer having a buddy to keep me accountable and for encouragement, etc. but I find it stressful to try to coordinate cooking dinner, Cory's work schedule being inconsistent, and timing my own meals and snacks. Also, I have a really hard time getting out of bed in the mornings and if Cory is working late, then he'll need to exercise beforehand.

So, baby steps. I'm just impatient. Plus I want to be in good enough shape to run races again!!

life events and nonsense

So, I have been busy. That is definitely only an excuse for my lack of exercise, but oh well. I found some really fun looking races, so that is motivation to start the C25K again! One of them is the Firefly Run on October 6th. I know Matt is in, anyone else?  http://www.fireflyrun.com/index.htm  

But now I'll elaborate on my busyness! Cory and I moved in to an apartment! We moved a lot by car on August 4th, then I hired movers for my furniture and a few boxes I'd managed to pack in the meantime on August 9th, then yesterday Cory rented a U-haul and with the help of his brother, moved the rest of his furniture. I'll show some pictures from the middle of our progress. First, the pool! Because it looks so refreshing.

Makeshift Furniture: TV stand

Our first dinner! On our... "table" 

Here is the bathroom. One of the only rooms that actually felt complete by the end of moving day.

More bathroom. Because having a functioning, clean, and decorated bathroom is so nice.

Sorta blurry shot of the kitchen:

The dining area with a table instead of a storage tub! (We now have the other two chairs as well)

Poorly lit view from kitchen to dining area.

Bedroom! Looks pretty much like my old room, but the day before this, instead of a bed there was an air mattress on the floor, and boxes serving as nightstands.

In job hunt news, I had an interview with my old hospital today. But for an observation unit, so it'd ideally be less critical patients and it wouldn't be as stressful. Plus I am applying for part time, which hopefully would help me deal with the stress of that place. On a positive note, they do seem to be trying to get their act together (the hospital I mean). I talked with my old manager today, and she said they no longer get 7 patients each, they cap the unit off at 24 instead of 26 so no one has to go to 7. For those of you who don't remember, I started getting 7 patients in January 2010, 3 months after coming off of orientation. Which is stupid and dangerous. By the 7th patient, you lose track of at least 1. Six is tough enough, but once you reach 7, you just pray no one has an emergency, and that no one catches all the corners you have to cut. Anyway. So it's good they don't get that anymore. Plus they now have "free charge," which means the charge nurse (who is kinda the shift leader) does not have a caseload of patients- they are there for more system things like checking that we are following all the guidelines we are supposed to, doing customer service things, and helping out with discharges and admissions. Ok, that was a lot of rambles. 

Moral of the story: I'm moved in, I am looking towards getting a job, and I am hoping to get back to C25K tomorrow!

I work out!

Hey guys!  It has been a hot minute since I've posted and A LOT has been going on.  Well maybe not "A LOT" but surely "a lot" anyway.  After making all A's last quarter I had a nice two week break where I got back into running on a regular basis.  During that time my itch to get back into the gym came back pretty strong.  I ended up joining Factor X Fitness in Valdosta ($10 a month no contract).  I've got a basic workout schedule set up of 5 days a week at the gym; Monday, Wednesday, Friday cardio and lifting and just cardio on Tuesday and Thursday.  I also plan on running at the track on the weekends.  All in all I feel really good about where I am moving forward.  I'm hoping that my change in school work ethic will transfer over to working out as well.

It's been so far so good I must say.  I'm keeping my weight down, feeling stronger.  I feel really good.  My only concern right now is managing my time.  Between classes, studying, kids and working out (trying to eat right, granted that doesn't take up time as much as it does mental energy) the days are pretty full.  Suffice it to say your continued prayers and support would be much appreciated.

Thank you guys so much as always.

HONK!

Matt