I passed the 10 pounds lost mark this week, which is very exciting! I am now 30 pounds from not being overweight, which means I have dropped 25% of the weight I would like to lose. It is slow, but not a terrible sacrifice, really. (And I’m 1 1/2 pounds from my goal for the challenge, with 3 weeks to lose it.)
And in other successes, I have now run 5K twice as my regular twice a week run. I actually ran it last Monday and this Monday, because Friday is my other running day and we went to festival that day, so I had to exercise while it was still dark. I like our neighborhood, but am not really comfortable going out without Abby when it is dark. And there is no way she can run 3 miles. She is walking one mile okay now, but it has taken a while to get to even that. So now I know that I could sign up for a 5K race and know I could make it to the end without dying. Not fast, of course. That is the next challenge. It takes me just over 40 minutes now and I’d like to see that drop to around 30 minutes, but that won’t happen until I’m that 30, or at least 20, pounds lighter!
Wow! You’ve run a 5k distance recently! I need to get back to that. I’ve worked on my hip issues from time and time and it still gives me trouble. I miss running. I think I’m ready to try intervals again.
One of the advantages of being older that I’ve noticed is that I pay WAY more attention to avoiding injury and taking care of any little pains that start to creep in before they become full-blown injuries. I did have that problem with plantar fasciatis after I moved down and overdid the hills, but once that was tackled, I’ve been very fortunate to stay relatively injury-free. But it is certainly a struggle as you age.
I don’t know if you cross train at all, but that is key for me. I love to run, but never go out more than twice a week. But I wanted to keep aerobically as fit as possible, so I had to find other aerobic things that I also enjoy. Right now, that means a bike ride twice a week, an aerobic strength training workout once a week, and a Nordic walking workout once a week. Then there are a couple things I can substitute if I have to deal with bad weather. But for older joints and muscles, having that longer time between runs is really key! Monday and Friday is it, but I sure do enjoy those two runs!
We’re coming up on my “slow jogging” season here. I’m a bit of a pansy (ok, a LOT of a pansy) about getting outside to go for a run when it’s cold. Partly because I have the kids in tow and I know they’re just sitting in the stroller getting cold even though I’m working up a sweat. But it’s supposed to be in the 50’s all next week, so we’ll definitely be able to get some outdoor exercise in! And congrats on passing the 10 pound mark!!