So far this year...

I was thinking back the other day about my resolutions, or "goals" that I made for this year. I realize that it wasn't all that long ago, but I am terrible at keeping resolutions and never make them, so I went to look back at the blog where I listed them. Here they are:

"1. Lose weight. Yes, we all make that one, but I've already lost over 50 pounds, and I AM going to continue this weight loss in the new year. I am focused on getting healthy, and losing weight will help get my health back in order.

2. Read more. I love to read, and do read quite a bit, but I'd like to read a lot more. I get in moods where I just want to read and read, but other times I just don't read at all. So I'm setting a goal of reading at least 2 books per month. That may not seem like very much, but it is more for the months that I wouldn't read at all.

3. Spend more time with friends and family. I see my family once a week, but rarely see my friends. I'm going to make more of an effort to make sure that I don't let time go by so long between visits. I love my friends and family, and love to spend time with them. I don't really know how to set a concrete goal with this one, but maybe a goal of seeing them all at least once a month? That may not always work with some schedules, but I will try."

As for the first goal, I think I'm doing pretty well on it. While I haven't weighed myself lately, I'm working very hard at losing weight. I started the 5k training, and have kept on it for 21 days straight! Today is day 22. I don't have a working scale at home, so I'm hoping that I'll see a nice drop in my weight when I go back to the doctor in a few weeks. I consider myself succeeding on that goal so far though.

As for the second goal, I have been reading. :) I did get my 2 books in this past month. I have a big stack of library books that are waiting to be read. So I think I'm doing well with that one too.

Now for the third goal, I'm not sure how to measure that one. I am still seeing my family weekly, and have seen other family members a little more. I've even gone out to dinner with my hubby's family, and spent a little more time with them. I didn't set any kind of time measurement though, because I'm not sure how I could. Either way, I think I'm doing good on that one too.

So far, so good then. :) I just hope I can keep it up for the remaining 11 months.

My Training... slightly modified.

For those that are curious about what exactly I'm doing to train for my 5K, I decided to post my training guide. This isn't the whole thing, but I will include a link. I have slightly modified the plan for myself because I don't feel I'm physically up to doing the running portion, but I will get there. The program is for training in 10 weeks or so, and I'm stretching that out.

For instance, I walked for 20 minutes for about 6 days, then walked 30 minutes for roughly the same amount of days. To be honest, I've lost count of days, but I have been walking every day. Today I walked for 40 minutes. I'm going to get my body used to the physical activity before I start running. Plus I'm hoping it will warm up a little bit so I can run outside. Walking in my home hasn't been a problem, but I think trying to run will be. I need somewhere to do it.

So here is the breakdown:

Starting the Training Program:

The first step should be a complete medical exam to make sure it is safe to begin a running program. Depending on a person’s training base, an eight-to-10 week program should be just enough time to prepare to run 30 minutes, which is the approximate time it will take a beginning runner to complete his or her first 5K.

If the runner has not previously been involved in a running program, it may be best to start with an eight-day walking program routine, before starting to run. The program consists of walking for 20 minutes the first four days, followed by walking for 30 minutes the last four days. If this causes no problems, next follow a 30-minute circuit of running for two minutes and then walking for four minutes, five times consecutively. This routine should be done three times per week until the runner is comfortable. Each week, the runner should add one minute to the running time and subtract one minute from the walking time. This should continue until the person is running comfortably for the full 30 minutes.

Here is the link to the full page: http://www.fitfaq.com/first-5k-article.html

So that's what I'm doing. I'm going to get a calendar and figure out just which day I'm on now. :) All I know is that I haven't missed a single day in training, no matter how tired I was. :)

Day 10?

So by not blogging the past couple days, I have lost track of my days. lol. I'm pretty sure this is day 10 of my training. I am still sticking with it. I met a good friend of mine yesterday for coffee, and told her all about my training. We then went and walked the mall for 30 minutes, my training for the day! :) I am so thankful for how supportive all my friends are with this training. I don't think I could keep it up without all the support I'm getting.

I have not done today's training yet, but I will as soon as I finish blogging. It's another day of walking 30 minutes. I'm taking it slow with stepping up to the running stage. I will get there, but I'm not going to push it just yet. I think I need to get used the the daily physical workouts before I jump to that point.

Well, off to train! Thanks to everyone for all their support!! :)

Frustration, and day 7

Well I did it! Day 7! One full week of training! That is the longest that I've ever stuck to any kind of diet/exercise routine. I'm pretty proud of myself. If it weren't for the support of my Tina, I'm sure I would have given up days ago. So I bumped it up to the next level today. I walked for 30 minutes. I have a few more days of it before bumping it up again. We'll see how my sugar holds out on that one.

As for the frustration, that is regarding the reactions I received when telling people, mainly my family, about my exciting school news. I'm so excited about going to school to be a vet tech, but my excitement wasn't shared. It was mostly met with a disappointed look, or questioning. I definitely did not get the support that I was hoping for, and even expecting. Somehow my leaving nursing is the worst thing possible, and being a vet tech just isn't good enough.

Now I'm very aware that I won't make near as much as a vet tech as a would a nurse, but I don't care about that. I want to love what I do, and not do it for the paycheck. I truly think this line of work will make me happy, and it hurts to have people that don't believe that and don't agree with it. I didn't even get a congratulations, or a "that's great!"

Thankfully I did get much needed support and encouragement from my friends, and I also got that support from my mom. I just wish the rest of my family approved of it and were as excited for me as she was.

Anyone that really knows me knows what an animal lover I am. This just feels like a perfect fit. To those that don't approve, I'm sorry you feel that way, but it isn't going to change my mind or the way I feel. This is my life, and my decision.

Day 6 : Done!

I'm still sticking to the training, and I completed the training for today, day 6! I'm still only walking 20 minutes, but I think I'm bumping it up to 30 tomorrow. I can't stay at the first step forever. Plus my sugars seem to have gone back up a bit. I had a snack right after my training, and I've been keeping a close watch on them. I hoping to hear back from them Monday.

Not too much to say today, but I'm glad that I'm sticking to this training. If it weren't for my best friend Tina, who knows if I would still be doing this. Having someone to be accountable to, that is doing it with you makes all the difference. :)

Day 5.. and school stuff

Well I completed day 5 of my training. I'm actually a little behind schedule, but I did that on purpose. Since I wasn't very active before this training, I'm going to ease myself in a little more. Day 5 was supposed to be a 30 minute walk, but I just did 20 minutes like the previous days. I'm going to give it a couple extra days, and then jump to the next step. I'm proud of myself for keeping it up. 5 days in a row!! :)

I really think this exercising is affecting my sugars though. They have dramatically dropped, and now seem too low. I'm waiting for word from my doctor on what to do next. That is another reason I didn't want to jump to the next step on my training. I'm hoping the dr. will cut back on some of my meds.

I got some good news today. I enrolled and was immediately accepted into the vet tech program at Baker College!! Woohoo!! I'm so excited. I was told that because of my income level, I should be able to go to school for free! I should qualify for enough grants to cover my tuition! That made my decision so much easier with this school. I'm really happy about it. Orientation is in March, and classes start in April!! :) Woohoo!

Day 4

I started out early this morning, but I was sure to get my walk in. I walked inside my house again, shortly after breakfast, then I got ready and went on my way.

It was a pretty busy day for me today. I drove to my doctor's office to pick up some samples, then went to my sister's house to spend some time with her and my nephew. :) After that I had an appointment with an admissions advisor from Baker College. It went SO well! I'm really excited about their program, and I really think this school is the right one for me.

The advisor was wonderful. She was so kind, and so helpful. She was more than willing to work with my on everything, from getting my old transcripts, to working on financial aid things. :) She even said that with my low income, I will more than likely be able to go to school for free! I should qualify for a lot of grants, and possibly not even need to use student loans! This opportunity is just too good to pass up!

I talked it over with my hubby tonight, and I really think this might be the place for me. All I need to do is fill out the application, and I'm in! :) It's really exciting! :)