First First Friday

For the First time in a Long time I want to Run...

And I mean literally, in the physical exertion, sport version of the word. Its been about 2 months since Ive gone on any sort of lengthy or, at least, challenging run. And I think I am now over the hump.

Getting back into exercising has been a challenge on many levels; busy and inconsistent work schedule, crazy Florida weather, having to pay for a gym membership, being sick... at some point, these "reasons" start to sound more like excuses.

On the way to the gym... 6am is early, but there are sometimes beautiful rewards.

So, I bit the bullet, and got back to the gym, finally figured out how to use my heart rate watch, and even started keeping a food diary. Of course, 1 week into it, I got sick. And now 3 weeks in, my heart rate monitor has stopped working. Alas, its not enough that the chocoholic in me fights me every day on my quest to be healthy, but real life gets in the way too. How can you plan for such things? Its so easy to get set back when life happens and things get in the way. Reality is: you can't plan. You can sure as heck try to plan, but God, or fate, or whatever you want to call it will ROFL&LFTAO at you.

How I survived the sickness. 

What you can do is laugh back. Roll with it, work with it, whatever cliche you want to call it. Me - I drank so much water and juice when I was sick Im pretty sure I literally flushed the sick right out of me. And as soon as I could breathe again, I got back at it. The HRM problem remains unsolved, but I am still using the watch for time and pace!

Until now, food diaries have never worked for me. In fact, when it comes to most healthy habits, I get bored and distracted easily and quickly. The difference this time is that I am been researching and learning about the dos and donts, goods and bads, fun stuff and hard stuff. So now I have something to base my diet and workouts off of. (And let me tell you, that little food diary has been a harsh reality for my sweet tooth and carb-devouring palette.) And I am by NO means dieting. I am making a lifestyle change to eat healthier. I am trying to pick up a GOOD habit, rather than focusing on dropping the bad ones, because they go together. And its always better to focus on the good, on the small gains, positive reflections, and attainable goals, rather than the bad.

So, I welcome you to First Fridays. The first Friday of every month, I will write about a "First" accomplishment, experience, "ah-ha" moment, etc. that I have had within the last month. We often dont realize or take for granted how much we learn and take-in in the day, or we have moments of realization that we dont write down or that fall by the way side. These posts will help remind me of those firsts, and inspire me to keep working for more. Hopefully, they will do the same for you too.



With that, I am headed to bed so I can hit the pavement tomorrow and breathe in that fresh air!