Running Program Week 1 Day 1

 

I just successfully completed Day 1 of my new 4 Week Running Program!

Yay! *loud applause and cheering*

 

 

 

For those who do not know me, waking up anytime before 10 am can be a challenge. Waking up at 5:30 after going to sleep at 1:00 am, and being alive enough to have everything I need for the gym and work packed and ready, is almost laughable.

 

And yet, I stand victorious! Woot for me.

*happy dance*

 

So the deal is, I am a very goal oriented person, and since I don't actually want to lose weight, I have  always been sort of lackluster as far as finding motivation. My ideal goal is to gain a good amount (10-15 lbs?) of muscle mass, and maybe lose like 4 lbs of flabby fat. Reasonable enough. I chose running because its the most obvious goal oriented fitness, and uber inexpensive. I am also excited because my fellow buddy, who is recently a new little Momma, is also going to begin a running program as soon as her doctor releases her for exercise, so I get a fellow sufferer hehe!

 

This specific 4 week program is meant for beginners to be able to run for 30 minutes nonstop. HA! I think if I tried running nonstop now, I would get to like 4 minutes and then die lol. But I am hopeful this will really help me achieve my goals. I was able to do the first day no problem and feel great.

 

And as a bonus, there are so many little 5K and 10K races set up around Dallas every month for charity causes, that as long as I can run 2.5 miles I can begin participating in running socially as well! Ever since volunteering at a local bike race to help raise money for medical research, I have really loved the idea of being a part of something that helps human beings live better lives by contributing to medical research or local charities, promotes fitness in general, and makes me healthier too!

 

Being in the medical profession, the importance of maintaining one's health is always sort of at the forefront of my mind, yet living in America its really pretty deplorable to watch all our daily life habits destroying our bodies through our own laziness. Not something I want to be part of my life or my children's if I have them. So on top of avoiding processed foods as much as reasonably possible, I really need to focus on this other aspect of my health as well. Do you know a person's muscle mass is directly proportional to their life expectancy, and becomes more relevant the older one becomes?

 

I am very excited for this to become an integral part of my life now. Exercise and physical fitness were not in any way a part of my family life growing up, and that is just so vital now! You form the bones of your adult life when you are a child! It really is crazy to me to think about, specifically since when I think about raising a family and all those ideals, physical fitness and eating healthy meals are a very important part of what I would want my family's life to be.

 

If I could redo my childhood and make it everything ideal, I would want my everday life to include:

 

1. A regular sport (horseback riding, dance, soccer, volleyball, something!)

2. Healthy meals using fresh produce and meats (no casseroles ick!)

3. Gardening and nature (hiking/camping/canoeing)

4. Reading including all the importance classics as well as family nights (such as harry potter reading nights with the whole family or some such equivalent)

5. Some form of art/music

 

Plus of course fun kid stuff lol... like girl scouts and camp and such.

 

But this is my chance to make my life everything I wished it had been, so here is another step towards that :) If I have children I want to focus on those things, as well as some form of political involvement and religious faith. Considering both my parents are super conservative I do not regret being thrown into that at all... and their views on religion are also sort of standard ick, so I am cool with the lack of religious indoctrination. I still turned out to have a pretty good faith despite my many mornings of skipping church and wandering through the woods contemplating my sinful soul. I thought more about my faith then than I ever did stuck in the classroom surrounded by annoying stupid children complaining about their spoiled rich lives anyway.

 

Of course I want my children to grow up with the church family that I never had, as well as gain a well rounded understanding of our political system and develop an opinion about what the role of government should be in our lives.We will see how that goes though lol. I guess an important part of that will be to have open discussions where the kids feel no criticism or censure for voicing their opinions (no matter how silly they might be initially). A good education though will be huge in helping that along. Private school?  Ok getting too involved now lol.

 

Back to today! Yay me lol. Lets see if I can keep it up!

 

I will also be working on healthy protein pumped recipes and snacks to help me develop muscle as well. So far I just have Kellog protein bars and smoothies lol.