Taking Care of Myself – Day 3

Day 3/100

Monday, August 25th

Exercise:

Today, instead of getting dressed for work, I got dressed for exercise! I put on my running outfit, put my work clothes on a hanger and packed a bag for freshening up post work out. The clothes, the bag, and my work shoes all went into my car. I then made breakfast for the kids and  myself, though I saved mine for after the workout. So that also went into the car, along with my lunch. I did eat a few slices of pear and made coffee for the drive. After horrendous back-to-school traffic, I finally dropped the boys off at school and went to the park to do my 5K Your Way training. My kids have been in school since last Wednesday, but the rest of the city's schools started today, so traffic was extra crazy. Oh how I miss my 30-35 minute commute as it took us close to an hour today. I hope that settles a bit during the course of the week. We will see.


Not far from the boys' school is the a trailhead of one of several greenways here in San Antonio. The school itself is just one mile from my job while the trailhead is maybe another mile away. So I drop off the boys, walk/run on the trail, then go to work. I would not have time to go back home and shower, so I bring my change of clothes as well as some essentials to freshen up with (wash cloth, towel, deodorant) to work and lock myself up in the restroom to get ready.

I could, of course, work out before I leave to take the boys to school, but since we already leave the house at 6:30 and I get up at 5:30 for that, I really don't want to get up any earlier than that. Besides, I like that particular trail a lot and by then the sun is out while it is not hot yet. The perfect way to enjoy the outdoors, get some sun and not get scorched. You will get eaten alive by mosquitoes though, should you forget your repellent. I was glad I had mine! As soon as I opened the car door, one of those little boogers flew right in. Oh no. I was not going to be your breakfast. Let's just say I got out of the car pretty fast to access my little bag in the trunk and spray on  the repellent.


My 5K Your Way training was the same as yesterday on the treadmill: 3 minutes walking, 1 minute running, 4 times for 20 minutes total. I covered 1.1 miles this morning, plus 0.2 miles warm up and cool down. So I walked 1.3 miles total. I felt great, having started my day with exercise and outdoor time! The trail is very tranquil and relaxing. I even saw a deer, which always excites me. I actually see deer quite often when in the parks or on the trails. On Sunday I actually saw a doe with her fawn on and later on a young buck. I was glad he seemed relaxed and did not pay me much attention, I sure do not want to meet those antlers up close.


Back to Monday. While eating my lunch, I had this crazy idea: Let's go for a walk in 100+ degree heat and lots of direct sunlight. Yeah,  crazy idea. I should have known better. I actually ended up walking 1.3 miles around the neighborhood of the office in 27 minutes. I returned to the office drenched and did not have another change of clothes. I also caught a very light sunburn. Yes, I burn in less than 30 minutes of sun exposure. Again, crazy idea. Lesson learned. No more walks during lunch hours. At least not any time soon while it is hot and sunny here, which is most of the year. I live in South Texas, after all.

For Me:
My lunch walk actually was my "me time" for the day. I wanted to do something to purposefully leave my desk and work area during my lunch. Since I always bring my lunch, I tend to eat it at my desk, which is not good. I need to get away from the desk during my lunch and actually relax. So the idea was to eat my lunch at the office and then walk for 30 minutes. While it was a nice break, it was too hot outside, so I need to figure out something else for future lunches.

Taking Care of Myself – The First Weekend

Day 1/100
Saturday, August 23rd

Exercise:

Today I slept in because this week was exhausting. By the time I got up it was too hot to walk outside (above 100 degrees). In the evening I got on my treadmill and walked:



1.571 Miles

31 Minutes and 36 Seconds

For Me:

I finally watched a movie I have been wanting to watch for a while: The Hours. Powerful and thought provoking. I started while on the treadmill and finished it on the couch. :)

The Hours

Day 2/100
Sunday, August 24th

Exercise:

I finally got new running shoes, professionally fitted for the first time. I broke them in with a 1.3 mile walk in the park (27 minutes and 23 seconds). I would have went longer, but it was too hot (it was mid day and the sun was merciless even though I was mostly in the shade of trees). I also got insoles that I could mold to my feet (I have low arches and need extra support). I decided to give SparkPeople's 5K Your Way program another shot. This is similar to C25K (Couch to 5K). I started it twice before and never finished because of foot pain The new shoes and insoles should help with that and this time I will modify the program to doing each phase twice as long to adjust better. I hope this will help me stick to it. After my resolution of soon starting this program again I just went for it and started it today on the treadmill. It consisted of four intervals each of 3 minutes walking and 1 minute running for a total of 20 minutes and 1.1 miles, plus cool down.

My New Shoes: Saucony – Hurricane 16

1.211 Miles

23 Minutes and 15 Seconds

For Me:

Finally getting professionally fitted running shoes. I went to Soler's Sports at Old Bandera Road, which was a great experience. If you are looking for a running store, this is a good one. They are a local business with four locations in the San Antonio area.

Also, some Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey – banana ice cream with walnuts and dark chocolate chunks. It is one of few gluten free, corn syrup free ice creams I could find (note that most Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavors contain gluten, either as an ingredient or possible traces due to shared equipment – this one does not). The bananas, cocoa, and sugar in it are also fair trade which is wonderful. And then it was on sale, so yeah, I got some.

Good Stuff

Taking Care of Myself – A 100-Day Challenge

So it has been quiet around here again for a while *sound of crickets* Well, I am back now. :)

I have just recently realized that what I have been struggling with for the past year and with increasing difficulty is in fact depression. I have been experiencing major struggles in life as of the last few years related to professional growth, family life, health conditions, and some other quite essential things. In many ways I feel trapped. Last weekend I had a very long Skype chat and phone call with my sister in Germany and I finally opened up about a lot of my struggles I had previously kept to myself. I am trying to learn to talk to people without telling myself I am a burden. I am still working on this while trying to figure stuff out before making any decisions on how to change my life for the better.

One thing that is known to help with depression is regular exercise. So, other than the physical health benefits and getting me closer to my goal of becoming fit and healthy before I turn 30 years old, it also helps me with my depression. I have felt this effect before several times. I am going to be honest. Since being at my all time highest weight (again) earlier this year, I have lost 16.4 pounds so far (12.3% of my total weight loss goal of 133 pounds). This did not happen fast, but slow and steady. I attribute 95% of this weight loss to my healthy eating habits and I give 5% credit to exercise, maybe even less. See, I love the feeling after working out. I even enjoy working out most of the time. Somehow I don't do it consistently. I usually have a phase of about one or two weeks where I work out every day or almost every day and then I just stop. Why? No clue. Well, hold on, I might actually have a clue. In recent years, I (almost) always put others first, mostly my children and my husband. The same goes for other people as well, just not to the same extent. I have realized that I am not taking the time to take care of myself. I have made everyone else a priority and told my own needs and wants to wait in line. Then I let others' need and wants skip the line, pushing taking care of myself toward the back again ...and again. Having realized this and the fact that, to be able to care of others long term, one has to take care of oneself first, I am determined to work on taking care of myself. This starts with regular exercise.

My friend Amanda created a 100-day challenge in which participants exercise at least 10 minutes each day. I was hesitant at first and that showed me just how much I need this challenge. So I am in. For me personally, I am expanding this challenge. Not only will I exercise at least 10 minutes each day, I will also do one thing strictly for myself every single day. This can be anything. Reading a book, working in the yard, doing something creative, treating myself to some gelato, cuddling with my cats, writing in a journal, meditating, planning a vacation, working on my Spanish skills, reviving my French, learning something completely new. Anything. As long as it is for me and brings me joy.

I hope that, by doing this challenge, I can create healthy habits which will become natural by the end of the challenge. I am starting the challenge this Saturday, August 23rd and will finish on Sunday, November 30th. I chose a Saturday to begin the challenge so that I can start it off with a long walk or hike in the park and so that both my start day and finish day are on a weekend.

I will update here on a weekly basis with a summary of my workouts and feel-good activities. I will try to snap a picture for each one and include them in my post.