I wonder…how many words are there to describe intense heat? We’re on day five of post century temperatures, and according to the experts, there is no end in sight. Predictions are that this heat wave will continue for at least the next two weeks.

Needless to say, there isn’t any outdoor exercise going on, not even at night. It was still 92 degrees at 10:00 pm last night! So what’s a girl to do? Hit the Y on the way home from work, of course! I exercised yesterday with my gym buddy on the east coast. We check in via text message and keep each other motivated. JAFG went to a Body Pump class at her Y; I worked through Week 6 of my C25K Learning to Speedwalk program. (Three minutes at 3.5 mph; 10 at 4.3 mph; 3 at 3.5 mps; 12 at 4.4 mph and wrapping up with a 2 minute cooldown)  I finished 2.2 miles in thirty minutes.  

The YMCA is absolutley the best deal around here for a gym membership. $62 a month gets our entire family of six access to treadmills, ellipticals, weight machines, free weights, a basketball court, a swimming pool, and all the exercise classes we could possibly want, including pilates, boot camp, body building, Zumba, spinning, regular aerobics and yoga. They have affordable personal trainers, computerized tracking for your workouts, and can perform a metabolic assessment.  AND there’s a rock climbing wall that is two stories tall. We LOVE the Y!

Hello Chickies!

Isn’t it weird how you put off seeing a doctor forever and a day, then you have some sort of serious scare involving the “C-word” and then you find yourself calling the doctor and the nurse practitioner for every little thing?  *sigh* 

Okay.  I’ve been trying to relearn how to run.  I was a runner in my teens and twenties.  I ran long distances, up and down hills. I ran because I had to, carrying a backpack and an M-16, wearing BDU’s and a helmet.  I ran because it was fun, in hot pink shorts and a teeny tank top.  I loved running.

Then I stopped.  Not all at once, but over the years as babies came along and life got in the way.  Earlier this year I thought to myself, “Self!  You should run again!  What great, efficient exercise!”  So I hopped online, researched beginner runner programs, talked to a marathon runner friend and started to learn to run again. It’s not as easy as it was thirty years ago, now that I’m staring the big Five-Oh in the face.  Every run required more than 48 hours to recover.  Every run hurt.  Not my lungs, but my hips and my knees.

I just started back running after injury and surgery, and it still hurts.  I had a conference with my Doctor (bless her heart) and then with Buff Chad.  I’m going to stop running before I cause some serious damage to myself.  Instead, I’m SPEED WALKING!!!  It has all the cardio and endurance benefits of running, but none of the joint-jarring, ligament-tearing side effects.

I’ve worked through my Learning to Run program this week walking instead of running. Not just a leisurely stroll, my friends.  Rather, busting along at a little over 4 mph.   I finished a 3 mile training session yesterday evening without a single twinge of pain, and I woke up this morning with no aching hips!   I’m still on for the 5K in October, and my goal is to make it in under 40 minutes.