Reluctant Acceptence

One of the things I'm struggling with is a "new" exercise routine. My plan for the new year was to jump back into exercise. I was feeling so good compared to how I'd felt for the last 6 months that I thought I was good to go. Yeah, not so much. The first week in January I went back to work and started swimming masters again. I was wiped out by Thursday. The second week, I added an exercise program at the Y for cancer survivors. Again, I was completely wiped out, this time on Wednesday. Hmmm . . . maybe it's time to re-evaluate the situation.

First, the swimming. Not only am I slower and moved down to the slower lane, but I'm not even leading the lane. *sniff* The Masters workouts were really kicking my butt trying to keep up with the intervals. Also, Masters and the Y class are on the same day. I discovered that I can't do two workouts in one day, I don't have enough in my energy savings. Unfortunately, Masters is only on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. So, my new plan is to swim on Wednesday and Saturday until the Y program ends in March.

Cycling, I got back on the bike! Dad and I went for a nice easy ride on the Coyote Creek Trail. My goal was an hour. I'm not much slower, but I was pretty tired around mile 9. Luckily, the car was only a mile away. My butt, however, was done at mile 8.


At the half way point.

I'm going to try to get on the bike once a weekend for a fun, easy ride. Weather and schedule permitting. I can get on the stationary bike at the Y, but there is only one upright bike in the whole place! Getting the sit bones in gear will be challenging.

I did a little running on the treadmill at the Y. The good thing is that I can still run. Not very fast but the feet do leave the ground. However, running was a little too much so I'm back to walking with purpose (aka < 20 min mile) twice a week. My plan was to run the Mermaid 5K in May. But I will have to see what I'm up to by then.

I was frustrated that I couldn't jump back in to my old routine. I was feeling so good and normal that I didn't understand why I couldn't do what I used to. Apparently, abdominal surgery, chemo, and six months of inactivity takes a toll on the body. Who knew?! So, I'm settling into my new routine and working on accepting the new me.