First Five Miles

I did a short, quick five miles this morning. A test to see how the toe would do. It did okay, I'm glad I didn't push for a longer walk. It felt good, though, to get out there! The boob crew is planning a mini reunion tomorrow morning with a five miler...but I'm a fair weather walker! It's not training season, so if it rains harder than a sprinkle, I'm skipping and just walking with "Leslie"!

Above or Below the Neck?

Ang and I were going to walk at the lake this morning, but this stomach thing I've got going on didn't allow for it. I did get in a walking video. I'm done with day 7 of Leslie Sansone's 10 day challenge. I've actually been able to keep up with it despite the ickies. Normally, the rule is (as per Running Magazine) at the neck. Sick above the neck (cold, allergies), you are good to exercise. It is not recommended for illnesses below the neck (chest cold, flu, stomach trouble). But I had started my ten days and wanted to follow it through! Three more to go. And hopefully I'll get back to the Lake with Ang this coming weekend!

Walking in the Rain!

My friend, Ang, and I went for a loop at Lake Murray on Saturday. Three miles (plus a little) in and then back out. Makes for a bout 6.25 miles. We were about 1.5 miles from our cars when it started to rain! There was no choice but to just keep walking...so we picked up the pace again and luckily, it didn't rain for long. It still sprinkled some, but not too bad. It was a great way to get the weekend going!

With fewer daylight hours in the winter and the recent rains, I'm relying more and more on my walking tapes. I decided to give up my gym membership in the fall. I wish I had a treadmill or an eliptical at home, they give such great workouts. But I really do prefer working out at home. It is definitely never crowded at home. I'm not giving up the gym forever, but it's nice to take a break and challenge myself to find other ways of getting exercise.

A few of Leslie's workouts have high impact, boosted walking segments. Translation: jogging in place! "Four Fast Miles" has a ten day challenge with it. If you are trying to break through a plateau or rev up your weight loss, she challenges you to do the workout for ten days straight. I wanted to boost my mileage for this month anyway, since I wasn't able to exercise much when I was sick for so long. So I started today! I'll do a few strength training workouts, too. I got up early to get it out of the way this morning Day 1 down, nine more to go!