Back on the exercise wagon

It took six weeks, but I am FINALLY back to exercising after our return home. The scary numbers on the scale were apparently not a rude enough awakening; it was the increasing back pain from kneeling in church that did me in at last! Daniel and I both came out of church complaining this week, and he gently reminded me that a pain in the back means the back is doing the work that the abs are supposed to be doing. So on Monday morning I called the gym and found, to my surprise, that they most certainly did have an opening for three spots THAT DAY (no procrastinating for me!!) and one every day this week -- though today is a little later than I prefer and tomorrow is only for 45 minutes. But it's something every day.

The first day back I ran a mile on the treadmill (with a .2 mile warmup and the same cooldown) and then did 30 minutes on the elliptical, followed by crunches and push-ups. I could only get through 75 crunches before my abs gave out -- wasn't it just six months ago I said that I didn't need that 200 crunches website? And I managed ten pushups in one set, and six in the next, and had to call it quits. I'm lifting more weight with less muscle. Ugh.

Yesterday I was astounded to find that my legs didn't ache, so I ran a mile and a half on the treadmill (at .1 mph faster) and did 30 minutes again on the elliptical. I'm keeping the levels easy but planning to increase them gradually. But I tried to do crunches and even two burned horribly, so I figured I should take a day off muscle work. Today I will try again. I will also aim for two miles on the treadmill, though time limitations will force my 30 minutes on the elliptical down a bit. I have a 5k to run a week from Saturday, so that gives me not much time to get back up to three miles! I would like to try for three miles THIS Saturday, since I have three days off from the gym (Friday is too busy, and Saturday and Sunday they don't really have childcare) and I need to try running on the road. There is a 5k across the street this weekend -- maybe I should be enrolling in that!! -- but I'd rather embarrass myself a little less publicly before next weekend.