Friday, April 30, 2010

My beginning

Ok so i hate exercise! But i really hate being the size i am now. So visiting FB i came across an old friend & became FB friends with his wife.( HI JOY%^) I kept seeing her walking status & reading what she had to say about her walks & to other people. Well she inspired me! so i started walking, think it been about three wks, off & on. Started @ 1 mile now im up to 1.5 miles. Its kinda hard @ my weight but im gonna keep going.
My beginning was when I realized just how vain I really am. 17 months ago I gave birth via c-section to a beautiful baby girl. Due to health issues and hospital screw ups I was a swollen 245lbs. Now, over a year later I'm holding steady at 200lbs and quite frankly pissed about it! While complaining to a co-worker about all the options that had failed me she said quite innocently "You should run." Hmmmmm.....run? This is something that is beyond foreign to me but okay.....I'll look into it. I e-mailed another friend that had started out a chubby smoker (much like myself) and is now running marathons. What she sent back was a wonderful and informative e-mail containing a training schedule!!! Well due to some set backs I've had to modify that schedule a bit but damn if I'm not out every day doing the best that I can! I'm not looking for miracles but 20lbs would be nice. :) Oh...and I'm about to sign up for my first 5k in July to support LifeLine of Ohio!!! I may end up walking it but come hell or high water I'll finish! :)

Living Room Walk

Our beginning started in the livingroom! I just had a new baby in January ( Mr. Alexander) so the three year old ( Bella ) and I walked to Leslie Sandstone's kid walk. In the livingroom. It's Ohio. It was cold outside! lol. We started off having a blast .. and then after a minor setback ( I was hospitalized.. high blood pressure, asthma attack, Lupus? bleck) we are up and walking again. OUTSIDE. It's a relief to finally have some decent weather so that we can be under blue skys. Yesterday during our walk Isabel and I couldnt' seem to find any birds flying around. Our adventure was filled with us calling out to the sky " birdies? where are you?" Isabel decided they were sleeping.. so for the next 10 minutes we called out " birdies?? wakeup!!" Eventually ( thank you fates) a few birds flew past and Isabel was happy that she had woken up the birds. This little girl sure does make the time fly. Today I'm thinking we'll walk through Ted Lewis Park .. maybe the birds there get up earlier! lol. ( add in Damn Speed bumps though.. ugh.) Anyway.. My name is Renita, mother of 4 ( ages 21, 14, 3 and 3 months-2 boys-2 girls) ( photos later.. must hurry.. Alexanders getting hungry lol) I'm a stubborn Aries women that has a lot on her plate... welcome to my life.

Till later,
Renita-

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Faerie.... running?

I'm not a walker. I admit it. Heck, I'm not even really a runner. But I do it now. You see, a week or so ago there was this Ravelry thread on the only forum I actually keep up with, encouraging people to run. Well, the premise was running, but basically encouraging physical exercise. So, I posted my excuses, but I kept reading. I read about the opera singer who started running 18 months ago and had lost over 100 pounds. The women who have to wear three bras to keep the "ladies" penned up. The woman who runs with a knee replacement surgery under her belt. More stories, more examples... and my excuses just kinda crumbled away.

So last week I started jogging. First a quarter mile, but now I'm up to half a mile. I signed up for my first 5K in September to benefit the Kelsey Briggs Run Against Child Abuse. I might, if I can get up to the distance, sign up for the Red Earth 5K in June... however, I don't want to push my luck, and 5K is 3 miles and I'm still only at half a mile.

Oh, and I jog in a skirt. :)

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

So here it begins...

I started taking  my daily walks a couple of months ago when I realized it was time to get moving again. Since I've started walking I've lost 34 pounds and regained a great deal of my mobility! I'm focusing on walking comfortably rather than trying to walk fast. And I'm lucky, I have mom here walking with me.

In my posts I'd like to include things I've seen on my walk, or people I've met. I walk a fairly regular route, so after a while I've started seeing some of the same people over and over again. Especially folks with their dogs. There are pit bulls, a skipperkee, some poodles, lots of labs and retrievers, several chihuahuas, and many many mutts!

So, that's my beginning. What's yours?