What a great week it's been. The sun has been shining, the snow has been melting and the weather is just right for starting to work out again.
Greenville is a beautiful place w/ a beautiful park in walking distance from our house. The only issue for someone slightly out of shape, is it's not flat terrain. After several years in Ohio, Florida and then Grand Cayman, other than a short stint in the very hilly Wooster, Ohio during my single days, I haven't spent great amounts of time walking and running on hills like this since I was in high school living in Beaver County. In high school I always thought these hills were to our benefit making us that much more fit for the crosscountry courses we'd run in competitions. Of course, the issue there was everyone else in Western Pennsylvania was training on the same hills. Still I always knew it was some sort of secret weapon of strength building.
Well, I'm back in Western, PA again and the hills are plentiful. Did I mention our home is at the top of a big ol' hill? A big enough hill that sometimes in the winter not only did the busses need to enter our neighborhood from the other flatter entrance, but so did we even in our four wheel drive Sportage. You heard me, right. We are the king and queen of cool owning a Kia Sportage that usually can weather the hills. But seriously people, the hill is a climb. So this must be taken into consideration when not only running, but also walking while pushing a jogging stroller w/ what I thought was a light Lilly, of which now I question.
After several days now walking from our home to the park about a half mile away, then around the park and back, I've learned to prepare mentally for the climb home. It's fine going to the park, downhill all the way. A little hard on the shins and feet, but not bad. But coming back, you can't help but feel the burn! I actually have stopped, relaxed my muscles, taken a drink of water, and a breath of fresh air and continued. Not once, but twice, during the last stretch up our hill. I'm not a wimp! This is not an easy walk. But it's great!!!!! My muscles are sore and my smile is large! I am walking my way back into shape. As a college friend used to say if you told her you hurt after a workout, "good." She knew that meant I'd worked out hard. By that standard, I'm doing good as my legs and hiney are feeling it. Not to mention my arms, who are pushing Lilly up and down those hills.
I have another skill out there on the path I've acquired after years of training which still seem to be intact. Twice, once in 2005 and once in 2006 I walked in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk. That's walking 60 miles in 3 days. A hard, but incredible journey of a walk. You know what hurt me at the end of the walk. One guess. My throat! Most people had blisters. I had a sore throat from talking! Surprise!
Well, my cousin helped me get in shape vocally yet again, yesterday. I was on a speedy little walk trying to get more mileage in before returning home quickly to feed everyone and get them on their ways for different activities. In the middle of the walk my cousin called. I can't pass up a call from one of my favorite cousins! No way! So I answered the phone and try as she did to get off the phone several times so I could concentrate my walk, and lets be honest, so she could get back to what she was doing, I just kept proving I could still do both. Just like in high school when I could talk through a race and still place in the event! I don't believe there's anyone who knows me who would have questioned this skill of mine. But just in case. Never fear. I can still walk and talk w/ the best of them.
So if you're working out and it hurts. Good. Eventually it will hurt less. Then you will work out harder and before you know it, perhaps you, too, will be training to enter the new Olympic Sport I am going to recommend called "Talking through a Run!" Train hard, because I'm going for Gold, baby!
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