Day 13

Finals hit about day 12 or so, and I had a ton of stress going on, so instead of working out to help relieve the stress, I stared at the grades pending area of my school stuff, willing grades to be posted, and relaxed by reading two books that had nothing to do with school. It was a great mini-vacation before the summer semester started, and then we went to Turkey Run this past Sunday. In my 28 years of living here, I had never been to Turkey Run (that's right - a born and bred Hoosier that had never been to that state park), so I had no idea what was in store for me. I let my Eagle Scout husband take the lead, and he chose the hard course - 140 steps that trek over .7 miles, leading to what is known as the 'Ice Box', as the temps plummet in this little cavern, past Wedge Rock and Rocky Hollow into the Punch Bowl, which contains a small pool and a waterfall (and felt very good to stand in), then back over the suspension bridge and home. It was longer than .7 miles, as the 140 steps part is just .7 miles, and we slept great that night. It also made me realize just how out of shape I was, as I huffed and puffed all the way up and down those stairs, and my legs killed the next day, but it was so worth it. Tuesday I started my internship at the historical association, and got a tour of all 4 floors of the Fowler House, and the Genealogy center where I will be working - that's right, more stairs with sore legs, and I took all those steps in 2 inch heels. Ow. Finished out the week and decided no more! I shall not huff and puff like a chain smoker when taking stairs, and I have chosen the lifestyle of an outdoorsy hiker, as Zach LOVES the outdoors, so if I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do it right! 

I got up this morning and donned my workout gear, then started out on a walk. I planned to go for 2 miles, but I ran out of steam at 1.8 miles - close enough for starters. Came home and drank some water, took a slight rest, and did circuits one and two of the Jillian Michaels "Frontside for Beginners" DVD. There are 6 total, so I figure I'll do two a day til I get all the way through. I also have Jillian's "Backside for Beginners", as well as her "No More Trouble Zones" and several pilates and yoga DVDs - I figure I'll swap them out after a 1.5-2 mile walk each day. My cousin is getting married in Florida in February - I'll be damned if I don't look good enough to sit a bit on the beach in my bikini!

Also new in the world of me, thanks to Lauren, I am becoming a fitness coach! This should be interesting, but I hope it'll also be the nudge I need to help me stay on track. Plus, I'm using MapMyWalk for the walks I take each day, and an app I found today called EveryMove. When I workout, I gain points for each exercise, and those points can be spent on retail, charity, etc. I decided my points will go toward the Make A Wish Foundation, so for every 500 points I get, the foundation gets $1 (kind of a cheap trade off, I think, but every little bit helps. 

I'm also going to borrow from Walt Disney for my new motto (which fits, since I'm such a Disney buff): Keep Moving Forward. So, to those of you who read this thing and may be having a bad day remember, if you work out today, you're lapping everyone on the couch! Keep moving forward!