Breathless.
That is how I felt tonight when I FINALLY added activity into my program. Tonight I decided it was time to start getting activity, so I went for a walk. As much as I want to say it felt great, it didn't. It didn't feel good at all. In fact, it felt fairly bad. It has been a half hour since I got home and I am still coughing and my lungs are burning.
Even though I am glad that I got out and did it, I feel disappointed. Disappointed that I wasn't able to do more than I did. And disappointed that I feel this horrible after getting out and doing something that is supposed to be good for my body. It doesn't feel good for me. It feels horrible.
I know that I am totally out of shape, but just a month ago I had gone out on several walks and even though they were hell, they didn't feel this horrible. I think some things may have been working against me, you know, besides being so out of shape it isn't funny. Here's what I think:
1) I had a goal to run 1/10th of a mile and then walk until I reached the 30 minute mark. Sadly, I was only able to run 1/20th of a mile - tragic and sad, but that is all I could do. I was breathing so hard - I struggled to get back to a place where I could breath comfortably. This is how I started out my walk, so I think it made the rest of the walk harder because I had lost my breath so early on.
2) I went out after dark. I will admit that I did this on purpose. I feel VERY self conscious about running in public and I wanted it to be dark outside when I gave it the old college try. The problem with this is that the temperature was a crisp 41 and a very cool wind was blowing. So as I panted and gasped for breath, I took in a lot of pretty cold, icy air.
3) I have had a cold - a mild cold - but apparently the mix of the workout and the cold, icy air didn't do me any favors. Did I forget to mention that when I went out I didn't wear a jacket...yeah, that may have been a mistake too.
4) The shoes I had on were terrible. I don't like my normal walking shoes, so I wore another pair that I haven't worn in a while. They were not just terrible, they were HIDEOUS! I have blisters on my feet and my toes hurt from sliding into the tip of the shoe.
It was a perfect storm, resulting in a terrible workout that has left me feeling a bit discouraged. Not defeated...no, I won't be defeated...but I do feel discouraged.
Believe it or not, there were a couple of high points that I think are worth noting.
I used a free program called RunKeeper to track my run. It is AWESOME. It tracks your pace, your distance covered, the route you take and the amount of time you have been working out. The BEST part is that it makes announcements every 5 minutes (this was a surprise to me - a very pleasant surprise) to let you know how far you have gone and your average pace. I have used it before and I always really liked it, but now that it talks to me....well, I am in deep, meaningful love with it. The chart above is one of the perks of the app.
I discovered that my new phone KICKS A**, as do my new beats headphones, and the Google Cloud is a gift sent from heaven.
Finally, despite feeling breathless, sore, discouraged and SO out of shape...I am so glad I got up off my booty and took another step, literally, in making what I hope are lifelong changes.
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On a related note, my mother in law gave me this FANTASTIC recipe for making baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders that are point friendly on Weight Watchers. Friends, these things were DELICIOUS. I did not feel like I was missing out on ANYTHING! This week I also made a Fajita Burrito Bowl - I got the idea from Chipotle. Let me tell you, it was FANTASTIC!
I am so pleased with some of the creative food we are putting together! It feels great to be eating things that taste great AND are good for me! I guess you can have your cake and eat it too (as long as it is made with pumpkin puree instead of eggs and oil)!
Have you ever tried New Balance walking shoes? They are the one company that didn't just scale up their smaller size shoes. They actually use different lasses taking into consideration the additional weight that those of us that use the larger sizes actually have. They are definitely more expensive, but I can't do anything else at this time. There are now two New Balance stores in the valley -- the original in Sugar House and the new one in Midvale. Ya might think about giving them a try.
ReplyDeleteCindy,
ReplyDeleteI have a pair of New Balance, but they aren’t walking shoes. I bought them when I was having problems with Plantar Fasciitis – they are designed to support issues like that. The problem is that they are so heavy and for whatever reason they make the pad of my left foot go numb while I’m walking. Maybe you can go with me and help me get a pair that will work. I really want to be able to commit to getting in 5 days of activity each week…but if my feet and legs are killing me because of bad shoes, well…it will be over fast!
I'm not going to tell you not to feel discouraged - this is an emotional journey, let yourself feel exactly what you want to feel - but in my opinion, you should be super proud of your workout. Even in less-than-ideal conditions, you went out, and you got it done! One of my favorite exercise mantras is that you never regret working out, but you regret not working out. Even a workout that feels so-so is better than sitting at home on the couch!
ReplyDeleteThe first time I ran, it was a slow jog for 1/15 of a mile, then walking 1/15 of a mile, intervals for 20 minutes. It felt like it took forever. But I was insanely happy - it was me, moving my body in a way I'd never moved before, and I knew things could only get better from there. You running 1/20 of the mile - now, that's a personal best, and voilà! You have a goal to work towards beating! :)
Mary, thanks for the words of encouragement. Although this morning I am feeling a bit worse for the wear, I still plan on getting out this evening and doing it all over again. I also plan to break my 1/20th of a mile record (sad that I have to call that a record!). I joked this morning with a friend at work that 1/20th of a mile is like running from my office to the other end of the hall.
ReplyDeleteConnie, this blog is awesome! If you ever want someone to walk with you at night give me a call. I am working on moving a mountain as well.
ReplyDeleteI would've been right there hacking up a lung with you. : ) I've decided not to start exercising until I've lost between 40-60 pounds. I really want to get the nutrition part of my lifestyle change down before I try to add something else. In the past I've always tried to do both at once and it was always overwhelming and I would just quit everything. I don't want to do that this time around...I want this to be the LAST time! : )
ReplyDeleteBe glad too...whatcha doin Saturday afternoon?
ReplyDeleteGood on you for getting out there at all! It is hard to get motivation to do activity when activity is painful. Well done :)
ReplyDeleteIs there any chance you could post your Fajita Burrito Bowl recipe please? I'm second week in at WW, and looking for some new recipes to add to my collection.
I've had trouble finding shoes to exercise in as well. My feet would go numb as well and I found that your feet swell when you are exercising. I buy a pair 1 size up from my normal size to exercise in. I'm sure this isn't news, but hopefully it's helpful anyway.
ReplyDeleteAdina, I cannot believe the difference it has made for me. In 2010 when I tried to start working out I REALLY suffered with the shoes I had. I assumed it was because of my weight, not the shoes. How wrong I was. My 1140's are seriously doing their job! I actually did buy my shoes 1 size up from normal (I had to buy a woman's size 13 - UGH - I have huge feet, and a freaky long index toe!) and that has made a huge difference with my toes, etc. It has just been fantastic to realize that I can work out without incredible pain.
ReplyDelete