FITNESS FRIDAY!!

I think I'm going to start a new thing on Fridays. I shall call it Fitness Friday & give an update about what happened that week in my world of fitness, running, and weight loss.

I've been slowly trying to start the Paleo diet. I know it would be better for me if I went hard core into the diet, but I've tried stuff like that before and within a small time frame I usually give up. Paleo isn't a fad diet, it's more of a lifestyle & I think if I slowly integrate the recipes into my regular diet I will be less likely to give up & more likely to be successful in making long-lasting changes. It helps that a friend sent me some info on the Paleo Diet with recipes & grocery lists!!

After the 5 month move overseas (where I was not nearly as active as I should have been!!) & then soon becoming injured once I did start up again, I am finally getting back on track. My body has not been used to rigorous exercise for some time, I am embarrassed to say, so getting back into it has been tough on my body.

The first run after my costochondritis was healed I made the mistake of running 6 miles. My chest was able to bare it, I had no flame up of the injury, but I didn't realize how badly my feet would hurt!! Many people advised me to take a shorter run, but after months of no running, I was just so eager! I messed up my left foot pretty bad, and I'm still having trouble with it. Since then I've been sticking to the elliptical at the gym. I was very fortunate in finding out that one of the base gyms (I have access to 3 gyms!) has a parent/child room with a safe area for children to play & be entertained, and another area with exercise equipment. There isn't as much in there as I'd like, but I make it work with what is in there.

I've been working on my speed & upping the resistance on the elliptical to make my legs stronger. It's actually been going really well! One Sunday I did 5 miles for my "long elliptical run" & two weeks later I did my "ler" 5 miles 14 minutes faster! During the week I have been working on quickening my 5k pace. I cut 15 minutes off of my initial 5k time, then each week since I've been cutting off 30-50 seconds. Now I am running 4 miles in the time it used to take me to run 3 & I'm upping my "ler" to 6 miles this Saturday. I'm hoping to reach that in less time that it took me to run 5 miles that first week.

In addition to working on the elliptical & improving speed & time, I've been slowly getting myself back into real running. Or, at least treadmill running since I don't have a jogging stroller. I'm taking it slow, but this past week I was able to run 1 mile foot pain free! I'd like to try more, but my foot keeps getting sore and painful from just walking around on my busy, errand-running days. So I'm pacing myself. I am very proud of how far I've come this month! Most of April I was injured, and May has really been a turn-around for me!

I am down 3 lbs thanks to my efforts, but I know I could've lost 5-7 this month. I still need to work on getting my eating habits in order, and I think with Jer's encouragement & help in the kitchen, I will get there soon! Next week a new month will be starting and in that time I'd like to lose 6 lbs.