The Pity Party is Over

Today I had my pity party. I was the only guest. I spent a good portion of the day laying around upset, crying, frustrated, and just feeling sorry for myself. There were several reasons why. Some involved running and my body, some reasons were financial and some were just plain stupid stuff.

So now the party's over. I put on my big girl panties and decided it was time to move on.

Sunday and Monday, I was fortunate enough to swim in my neighbors pool. I forgot how much of a workout it can be. Just running around the pool carrying some kids on my back wore me out like no other workout has done in a while! It was really nice to invite myself be asked to swim on such hot days!

Tonight I began working out using Jillian Micheal's "Ripped in 30" workout DVD. I started with week 1. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't as hard as I expected, either. That gave me a confidence boost. Let's see how long that confidence sticks around once I move on to weeks 2, 3 and 4!

Ripped in 30

This video uses the 3, 2, 1 method. Basically, it's a 24 minute workout. There's a warm-up then you head into 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of abs. This repeats 4 times for a total of 24 minutes. The activities change each round, so it does not get boring. A short cool-down at the end involves light stretching.

I found the cardio to be easy, maybe because I've been running and also doing the Cardio Max DVD, which involves 20 minutes straight cardio work. So 2 minutes seemed like a piece of cake! The strength activites invovled hand weights and were challenging but not horrible. The 1 minute of ab work was pure torture. I'm the first to admit I have no ab strength. I've really, really got to work on that. I will keep you updated on the progress!
(side note: I am not being paid to review or use this product, I just wanted to share my cross training activities with you)

Then, right around dusk, I took my dog Heidi out for a "walk". Now, Heidi is an Irish Setter and she was born to run. She takes off like a rocket for the first tenth of a mile. So we did some jogging, alternating with very fast walking. We did 1 mile around the neighborhood, and I felt great! I forgot how good it felt to get outside, quit worrying about the numbers on the treadmill and just do it!

Heidi

So maybe running and I aren't going to take a break after all. Maybe we just need to see other people and then meet in a new environment, namely outside. I have been so focused on time, speed, and distance that I lost the love for it. Before my half marathon training starts in a few weeks, I need to take some time to work on strength (especially those abs) and to get out and run for the fun of it. No pressure, just me and the road.

And maybe the dog. 

Heidi, collapsed after a run