I am super excited to add another type of exercise/fitness to my list. It makes life more interesting and "working out" more fun. In March we bought mountain bikes. We took them on our vacation over spring break and actually got to ride them for a short time, maybe 45 minutes, at this really big park in Memphis, TN. We didn't time it or the distance then. We didn't ride longer than that because we had spent the morning at the Memphis Zoo, which is quite large.
Today we took our bikes out to ride a trail John found. You ride to the end of the trail then turn around and ride back, for a total of 11.7 miles. We stopped for a few minutes here and there but for the most part we rode straight through. JC was the first one back to the Jeep. We reached the Jeep after about one hour and 45 minutes. I actually came in second because John stayed behind with Jenni on the return ride. She and I were in the back on the way there, laughing and having a great time. She had a hard time on the way back because it got harder. I found there was more uphill parts on the way back, almost the whole way. I struggled a bit but pushed myself as hard as I could. I wanted to make sure I made it to the stopping point before my phone died since I was tracking the miles and using it for music.
The weather was perfect, sunny and a cool breeze. It is my hope that we can do this often, maybe even every Saturday. Next Saturday we have a 5K to run. I am not sure how easy going the kids will be about it but I hope they will be willing to go with us every time, or most of the time. I hope we can find new trails to ride on to keep it interesting.
I have been doing the Squat Challenge, the Plank Challenge and added a Crunch Challenge to it. I have done the workout video once, but plan on doing it more next week. I didn't run this week at all. I will have to get out there and run this week twice before our 5K on Saturday. Working on my diet, too. I need to get all the junk out of the house FAST! I ordered more drinks so I can do another cleanse. I think I will do that after I get back from Children's Camp because that is always a hard week when it comes to food and exercise.
If you are unsure of what to do as far as getting your body moving so you can be healthier, just move. Go for a walk daily, do the Couch to 5K training, get on a bike and go for a ride, do one of the challenges. Just DO something, anything. And the more days you do something the more you will enjoy doing it. I love being an active person now. As I get closer to turning 50 years old the more I understand the need for my health to be as good as I can get it. I need to be active and I need to get my eating habits in line with how God intended me to eat. When I do, I feel amazing. But I know I can't go over board. I have to make sure I am not doing too much. It isn't about pushing yourself OVER the limit. It is about pushing yourself to the limit you are supposed to reach. If you push past that you can injure yourself and that stops your progress altogether. So take it slow and listen to your body. The better you eat, the better you will feel and the more you can do in time.
Changing my life one day at a time.
