I have not posted since the end of July. One of the main reasons is because I had not been doing much exercise-wise at all. I took a much needed break that I desperately needed. It was a harder summer compared to others. I am not going to say it was bad because we made some wonderful memories. I had to tackle some life lessons especially mid July to mid August. I dealt with increased anxiety I could not share about in detail. Even though this blog is mostly for me to track my exercise and mental health, I felt a pull to be private about my struggles. I did not share it with hardly anyone outside my family. I think that was a wise decision.
I read a very helpful book. It is not one of those how-to books with tips. Follow steps A - J and you will be a successful mom. It is simple and more of a bedrock foundation for parenting older kids. It is easy to implement every single day and it has helped me identify some of the reasons my anxiety was getting out of control. It did make a difference.
I am also seeing Dr. C in October in regards to hormonal imbalances. I probably should have done this years ago and kept putting it off. I did not think it was a big deal nor a huge problem. I was encouraged to do it. I have a consult and we will go from there. I may see a Naturopath as well but I was told to start with my own doctor. I do get the bad crazy hormone days but I have much better self control. I still hate them.
I did a little bit of exercise last week but this is the first week back into it. My goal is to run a half marathon in December. So here's what I did this week:
Monday (Labor Day) - We had a really nice family day. We went apple picking, went out the park in Keizer, shopping at Target and out to dinner. I took a long walk with Kara at the park. It was beautiful outside and a perfect way to end the summer.
Tuesday - Ran 4.14 miles with Tracy. I started at 5:25 AM and it was SO dark out. I have not run in the darkness in a long time. I thought it would be a struggle. I ran only three miles on Sunday and had a hard time. I felt out of breath and had to walk. This run was a lot better. We did go up some big hills, but I managed to maintain a 9:39 pace. I was slower on Sunday.
Wednesday - Swam 31 laps. It was great to be back in the pool again with friends. I worked on form and perfecting my stroke a bit better as well. We had a really good workout. This was my bad hormone day as I felt jittery, jumpy, anxious, and sweaty at times throughout day. I was in Target shopping and felt on the edge of panic. It is so hard to describe because it does not make a lot of sense. I had the day off from work and all the kids were in school--but I could not fully enjoy it because of what was going on in my body.
Thursday - Group Power. I woke up and felt significantly better. I increased my weight slightly from the week before and it was a very good workout. The day was much smoother because I did not feel nearly as jumpy or jittery. My brain could focus again.
Friday - Day Off. I did take Monday off but Friday will be my official day off so I wanted to stay on schedule.
Saturday - Group Ride. I like the 8 AM Ride classs. It is a good way to start a Saturday and I can be home without feeling I lost a good chunk of the morning. It was a pretty normal workout.
Sunday - Ran 3 miles at a 9 minute pace. I ran at 7:30 AM. If I can run Sunday mornings before church, I think it will help my Sunday schedule significantly. I felt much stronger than last week and could maintain 9 minute miles without feeling like I was dying.
Good first week back into it!!
