I Tried a Mile a Day for One Month

This year one of my biggest goals is to get my body into a healthy state. So I bought myself a used treadmill for Christmas and decided I should try to run a mile a day.

It's kinda a crazy idea, since I hadn't exercised much in, like, a year (except for that one month in the fall when I "trained" for and ran a 10K at Disney World). But I figured aiming for a mile a day would be easy enough to do even after a long work day, even if I just walked it. One mile is better than no miles, right?

So I started. And by day three made an exception that I could skip up to two days in a row, but I had to make up the miles (thanks a lot, insane work day that was unexpectedly 13 hours long and involved the police). Somewhere in the middle of the month I conceded that my goal would be 26 miles instead of 31, because I realized I wasn't thinking about my vacation when I made the goal.

And then by the time I left for vacation, I had done 22 miles in total.
Did I hit my goal? No. Do I feel awesome about those 22 miles? HECK YES!

While I do wish I had met my goal, this is the most consistent I've been with exercise in forever and I could feel my body getting stronger every week, which is the ultimate goal. Also? I RAN 22 MILES LAST MONTH. Every run my breathing gets easier and my heart rate is more stable. My mile time isn't great. I basically walk with little spurts of running. My pace is slower than a lot of walkers (my average pace for January was 17:57), but I'm moving my body and taking steps towards a healthier me, and that feels amazing!

What made me the most excited today (and led to this blog post), was that I went for an outside run for the first time since October because it was somehow 60 degrees in February in Massachusetts. And it was amazing. To set the stage: I spent last week walking and eating a lot of junk around Disney World with my family. I did not exercise, and I did not make good diet choices. My ankles/calves were so tight and sore from all the walking last week. BUT.

I ran my fastest mile time in, like, two years. My running spurts were longer than the last time I went out and my heart rate and breathing recovered quicker. I thought for sure it would be horrible after a week of unhealthiness, but it was the best run in a very very long time! All those little steps from January actually made a difference!

So now I'm looking at my February goals list and setting the same one: A Mile a Day. 28 miles by the end of February. I'm excited to see where I am come March first!

What are your goals for 2019?

I'm baa-aaack!

Hello again, blogging world! I took a little sabbatical from blogging for a bit to relax and recharge, but I am now back, and I have a plan! I've decided to (try to) blog three times a week. And I've given those three days names.

You're already familiar with Freedom Fridays. Now say hello to Magic Mondays and Workout Wednesdays! Monday's will be whatever I feel like blogging about: life, book reviews, adventures, whatever passes through my mind. Wednesday's will be an update about my diet and training.

So without further ado, I present to you, dear reader, the first ever Workout Wednesday!

I gotta say, I'm really proud of myself this week! I have been kicking major training butt! There have been big changes in this realm since the last workout update, so lets get you caught up.

My gym stopped offering P90X....right after I got a cheaper price on my unlimited classes for agreeing to a longer contract. But, as an alternative, they started offering a Functional Movement class at a time that is so much nicer that 7am! And I am LOVING this class. A ton. I get super sore each time, I get pushed to my limit, and I love it. I've never done Crossfit, but I think this is like a non-cultish version of that. Kbs, DBs, RFTs, AMRAPs....it's like learning a new language! This week (meaning since last Wednesday), I made it in 3 times (my goal!!).

Also, since last blogging, my best friend and I decided we're crazy. We decided since neither of us run, we should sign up for a half marathon. Because that's logical. Now, in my defense, if anything would ever get me to run, it would be this:

The Disney Princess Half Marathon. We're signed up, our hotel is arranged, and the training has begun. No, seriously, I've become a runner. Why? Because I get to run through Magic Kingdom and EPCOT, before they open, including on the Disney highway and BEHIND THE SCENES while all the characters cheer me on. Did I mention they encourage costumes? And that Mickey and Minnie give out the medals? Or that you start with fireworks? So I think you see I had no choice.

This week I ran 3 times, each run better than the last, including a long run of 4.5 miles (from home to the gym for a FM class!). This week I also realized just how far a half marathon is by putting it into local landmark perspective. I'm insane for signing up for this.

Total mileage this week: 10.42 miles. I think I'm even starting to like it. Weird.

Today I signed up for this:

A Doctor Who Virtual Race! The official details are here. Basically, you sign up for the 5K or the HM, do your miles on the honor system (with an official bib and everything), and they send you an awesome Doctor Who medal!!! I'm so excited!! The whole time I'll pretend I'm in an episode. Knowing myself, I'll have a whole storyline thought up and it will be epic.

My diet has been fairly good this week. I ate out 3 times (two with friends, once because I just didn't feel like making food), but tried to make healthier choices. I've cut out all cookies, donuts, cakes, and candy for the month. I tried to also cut out Coke, but I decided to just make that one an all-the-time change and limit it to very infrequently. This month, I've only had two cokes. Which is a huge deal for me. This week hasn't been so good with fruits/veggies, but has been good in other ways.

I'm also down a pound this week! My goal is to be down 10 pounds, or one pant size, by the time I go to Iceland. Oh yeah! I didn't tell you I'm going to Iceland! In exactly one month. With my 2 best friends. We're gonna hike glaciers and ride furry horsies through lava fields and see the northern lights. It's going to be amazing.

I'm Being Selfish

[I have no idea where this photo is from, but I love it. I found it on Pinterest. If anyone knows where it came from, I will gladly give credit!]

That Start Experiment I was so excited about? Yeah, I failed miserably. Like, I didn't really make it past day ten...except that "what's your favorite inspirational song" day. I rocked that one...and then rocked out to the massive Spotify playlist.

But I didn't meet, or really even work on my dream for this project. I had high hopes, then just didn't do. I have plenty of reasons why I didn't. It was VBS time. I had a massive cold. Maybe it's not the right dream for this phase of my life. I'm thinking, partially, that the problem was it's not a big enough dream at this time in my life for me to be motivated enough to set time aside for it. And that's okay.

During this 24 day experiment, I did make progress on my fitness goals. I kept up with my fitness challenges, and made it to the gym a few times (when my health allowed me to). I made a giant workout calendar counting down til the main event (more details later). And I love the atmosphere of the group! Every time I log into Facebook I'm greeted with silliness and dream-chasing, which makes it impossible to not make progress in some way.

But, the first-ever Start Experiment is over now. We live, we learn, we move on....to Round Two! The second-ever Start Experiment starts Sunday and the theme is "Audacious". Exciting!

I've been debating whether or not to stay on for this second round, because lately I've just felt lousy. My cold is finally clearing up, but I'm just exhausted in every possible way. I've even slept through my alarm clock(s) three days this week, which is so not like me! I've neglected this blog. I've neglected my journaling. I've been doing the bare minimum of life. So I've felt like I don't have the energy to take on this new challenge.

But today I was thinking. And internet surfing. Which led me to a bunch of posts about introverts (particularly this one from a fellow Starter). Now, I've know since before I knew the word that I was an introvert. But today I realized that it's probably a major cause of my problem right now. I spent July so super busy with very little down time: I had my usual work, ministry, family/friends commitments, plus two very big, very draining events, and a few smaller ones. Then we slammed into August, with life and parties and again, I've given myself no real rest. At all. I realized last week that I haven't made it to the river once yet this summer. And I LOVE the river. It's my happy place, and I haven't been in over a year. The one true day off I had in 7 weeks I had planned to go but it was stormy.

So, my risk for Round Two (and this might seem weird to some of you), is to be selfish. Not just at 5am, like Acuff says, but all the time. For the 24 days of the Experiment I'm going to be selfish as much as possible. I'm going to say no to things. I'm going to intentionally take one day completely off each week for Ashley time. I'm going to get a pedicure. I'm going to go to the river. I'm going to dig into my Bible. I'm going to eat healthy and get my exercise in every day. I'm going to read lots. And swim. I haven't gone swimming all summer. I'm going to blast my music and dance around my room. I'm going to dream of my next project. I'm going to do whatever I feel like doing to recharge and relax. I believe that this is the only way I will be able to continue the things I need to do.

"But Ashley," you're saying, "The experiment is about punching fear in the face and being audacious! How can you punch fear in the face or be audacious if you're not doing anything?"

Great question. Have you looked at the definition of audacious? I like the third one on dictionary.com the best: recklessly bold in defiance of convention, propriety, law, or the like;

Convention says I need to accomplish something big in this time. But really, I know myself. If I push myself to do do do this month, I will spend the rest of the year sick, tired, and stressed, wanting to give up the things I love doing. I don't want to get to that point. So I'm going to be selfish. And that is scary! I've still got bills to pay, a ministry to run, and this isn't a goal many people will fully understand. But if I'm going to be happy, healthy, and doing everything God designed me for, then I need to take the time to be selfish.

It's hard, but I have to. And I have to learn how to better juggle all these different things with regular Ashley-time. So that's my goal for this next round of StartExp: to be selfish and learn how to make true rest a part of my life.

What do you think about my plan to be selfish? Have you or do you do something similar? How do you incorporate real rest into your crazy life? 

Sore is the New Normal

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I've been kicking butt at the gym lately. Finally been consistent for any extended stretch. And by "extended" I mean three weeks. I know it's not really too long, but it's the longest stretch I've gone persistently. So far, I've done four days each week, with 2-3 days each week being p90x days. I am determined to get in shape this year!

Of course, it helps that my latest motivation is a friend who kinda literally died, then ran a 5k a few weeks later. I figure, if she can do that (and be a mommy), I can get my butt to the gym a few times a week. And so far, so good!

It also helps that I've been working days, instead of nights. I just pack my gym bag when I pack my lunch, bring it all with me, and change into my gym clothes before I leave work. Otherwise, I make excuses. Even if I think I'll just change at the gym, something happens once I sit in the car. Excuses show up and I skip out. So I head straight to the gym from work before I have a chance to really think about what I could do instead. The only time this doesn't work so well is when I actually get out of work on time and want to do a p90x class. Class is usually at 5, so getting out at 3 means I have a lot of time to kill before class, which leads to excuses. I did that Monday. My excuse was, "I kinda have a headache, and I should clean my house". Guess what didn't really happen?

So, my keys to learning to love the gym:

• Prepare for it early.
• Just go do it before excuses can show up.
• Take Motrin and/or meclizine just after lunch if its a rough day, so that can't be an excuse.
• Plan snacks and meals so they don't make you nauseated during class
• Make friends with at least one trainer.
• Follow inspiring (non-anorexic) Instagrammers and Pinners. 
• LOTS OF WATER!!
• Set goals with rewards.
• Do a fitness challenge with friends (some fun ones coming up!)

I am determined to be in the best shape of my life by the end of the year and committed to doing what I have to do to make that happen. My plan is to make healthier food choices, and hit the gym 4-5 times a week.

What are you doing to get/stay healthy?