I'm Getting Better

I'm improving! Tonight I ran longer than I have in the last week. Can I get a woop woop! I'm a happy camper. I can go to sleep tonight dreaming sweet dreams. I'll continue this distance for the next couple of days but I think starting Monday I'm going to add another 1/2 mile to my route. I don't think I'm pushing myself too hard do you? Thanks to my sis for her breathing tip I'm no longer feeling my throat burning when I run and I feel my stamina has improved quite a bit. I'm really proud of myself for getting off my lazy ass although I sure love being lazy...
*Allene Angelica*
Sent from my iPad

A Day of Pleasure and Pain

Yesterday I woke up bright and early and took my dog, Talon, for his .64 mile morning walk.  It was a surprisingly brisk walk.  Talon was more interested in jogging than sniffing.  I swear I saw a huge grin on his cute little face as he skipped through the grass.  After the refreshing walk I decided to treat myself to a brunch consisting of nutella crepes topped with whip cream and strawberries, eggs, bacon, sausages and hash browns.  Yum!!!  I was celebrating almost three weeks of not smoking.  It will be officially three weeks tomorrow, Tuesday.  I know the breakfast wasn't a very healthy choice but when celebrating a personal milestone one should not begrudge oneself a little pleasure.  To make up for the decadent meal I bought a weight scale, right after.  I haven't owned an accurate scale in years.  I had one that was passed down to me by an Aunt but I was very dubious as to it's accuracy.  The pain I felt when I saw my weight in bold digital numbers was mind numbing.  I decided to relax for a bit and read a book.  I read for a few hours and then took Talon out for his .64 mile evening walk.  After the walk I dropped him off at home and went for my jog/walk.  I was very proud of myself.  I jogged farther than I did the previous night.  My goal is to jog the full .64 mile and then up my goal from there.  So, that was my day of pleasure and pain.

The Stairs

A friend of mine goes up and down (about 4 - 5 times) these stairs (over 200 steps) once a week.  She got the bright idea of inviting me to join her.  I accepted thinking to myself it can't be that hard.  We arrive at the bottom of the stairs and I thought "Oh how pretty."  (Looks are very deceiving.)  The cement stairs zig zags up to the right and then to the left, there is a nice terrace with concrete benches to rest your tired ass if you so desire, before heading up the last set of stairs.  I was optimistic on my way up...I made it up the first set of steps no problem...the second set...I started breathing heavier...and the last set I grabbed the handrail and was physically using my arms to pull me up the remaining ten steps, my breathing had become increasingly ragged.  I felt such relief and happiness when I finally reached the top step.  I leaned on the banister at the top, sweat pouring down my forehead.  I am so out of shape.  I looked down at the scene and thought how beautiful it all looked from here and mentioned to Minnette that I should have brought a camera and taken a picture and she says well let's go down and get your camera and come back up...I looked at her and said "Huh?".  Needless to say, we went back down, I didn't have my camera but I had my iPad and brought that with me back up the second time I climbed those stairs and below are the pictures I took.  After the second round I decided to rest and wait for Minnette while she she climbed those stairs about 3 more times.  I'll do it again with her next week and hopefully I'll have improved a little. :)  I think maybe I need to practice in between and do some step ups at home.