I Finally Laced Up My Shoes

Last night, we had a big storm. It began with a dust storm in the afternoon which then progressed into a full scale, thunder and lightning with torrential down pour kind of storm. Not raining cats and dogs but raining horses and cows! The result of the storm was nice cool weather this morning. So I got up, got dressed and laced up my running shoes. I walked Madison to school and then set off on my run.



If I can take a moment to back up.........those of you that know me, know that I am committed to exercise. Not just walking the dog every day, but full blown, heart pumping, endurance building exercise. This has been some what of a challenge for me since the beginning of August. It began with our family trip to the UK. There was way too much fun to be had to worry about exercise, plus we were in rural areas where both sides of the car brush against the bushes as you drive down the lane. This is not a safe environment for a runner, that is for sure. While I was there, I did manage to get in a few nature walks, play with a giant dog and jump on a trampoline.

When we returned to the US, we spent a week with my Mother in her winter home (which is now OUR home); the weather was so hot that the only option for exercise was a leisurely swim around the pool (not exactly heart pumping).  It was during that trip that we made the decision to relocate to Gilbert.  When we returned to our home in Las Vegas, there was so much to do that I just couldn't justify going to the gym.  I was exhausted every day with all of the packing anyway (again, not exactly heart pumping).

We have been here in Gilbert for 11 days and we have been working physically hard every day to get everything set up.  We are still not finished, but we are close.  I decided that it is time for ALL of the usual routines to take priority over "moving".  If I can commit to at least 15 minutes a day, re-organizing something or unpacking one of those unimportant boxes out in the garage, then I can get back into all of my routines INCLUDING exercise!

So, there I was with my shoes finally laced up, ready to run.  I was a little worried, since it had been 2 months since I had consistently participated in heart pumping exercise.  I set off and I told myself that I would try to run for at least 30 minutes and not worry about speed.  In the end, I ran for 40 minutes, burned 400 calories and had an average heart rate of 169 (now that's heart pumping) and it felt FANTASTIC!

Shar