Tom bought me a treadmill from Costco and on January 1st Mikey who had just come into town, helped him put it together in our sunroom. I was certain I would use it, but I had no idea how much I would LOVE it! I love seeing the readout of how many minutes, miles, calories, etc I've been doing. I love that I can just get on and read a book while I walk along at 3-4 miles/hour. I LOVE the most that I can exercise whenever I feel like it (almost) I don't have to wait for Tom to be home to babysit, or the weather to be warm enough or cool enough, or for it to be light enough (especially the first and last reasons! Even if I feel like running at night when Tom's home, I don't really want to go run in the dark at 9:30pm, but I'm often on the treadmill at that great time!)
Okay, so I wanted the treadmill to start exercising and especially to lose weight. Well, I'm not losing tons of weight, but I'm AMAZED at the other side effects I've experienced.
#1 I feel SOOO much better emotionally
#2 My blood sugars are soooo much more stable (what I've noticed is that if I fast or if I eat a lot, or if I eat junk I don't crash or feel crummy.)
#2a I have a slightly stronger desire to eat healthily before and after running.
#3 I feel so STRONG to be able to really run fast OR far
#4 I feel like "my old self" who used to always walk and run.
#5 A body in motion tends to remain in motion, I get more done in my day
#5a Even if I DON'T get anything else done in the day beyond the regular care and feeding of children, if I exercise I still feel like I've accomplished something
So there you have it. The best part is that my dad is training to run a marathon, and my friend Joy just ran a 1/2 marathon. After talking to them I thought, hey, maybe I can run further than the 5k I have always stopped at. And sure enough I can! It's exciting to be able to run longer or faster, and after reading a lot of running books I am determined to only work on one or the other to save my 35 year old knees and prevent any other injuries. I'm sure you'll hear more than you want of running, but hey, at least it's not talk of kids throwing up (I just finished posting about our vomitous vacation in Florida, see earlier post)
6 comments:
I'm so happy for you! And proud of your stick-to-itivness. Those are great reasons. Especially the one about your slightly increased desire to eat healthy--right before and after running! One day I'm sure you'll feel that way all the time. One day I'm sure I will too. Maybe when all the kids have moved out of the house? If not, maybe in the next life...:) Keep up the good work!
I was JUST thinking about the treadmill idea again a few minutes ago! matt doen's want me buying one until I try one out first to see if I'll use it. I guess after spending $1,000 for my continuous glucose monitor and only using it once gives him reason enough. We'll see. And super good to hear all those reasons/benefits for exercising. I need to schedule the time!
good for you Susan! I'm so not a treadmill person, but lately I'm not much of any kind of an exerciser. i tried the gym we joined, but the free child care center was usually a disaster with Henry hitting other kids because it was too close to his naptime and he's 2 and can't communicate well and that was too much for me to deal with. that's a lame excuse.
I love all of your reasons and I'm so glad it's working for you! I really want to try for a 10k too. But for now running at all would be good!!
Heya Sue! I love our treadmill and I can't wait to get this baby out and get my 6-weeks over so I can start using it again. We have it in the bedroom next to the window and the kids camp out on the bed and plug into the tv while I listen to my ipod (the only time I get to listen to MY music). It really is a great machine eh?
Su, you rock! and Run! We all admire your dedication, and wish we had it too. It is so good to find something that works, and that is sustainable. Keep it up!
I just noticed that you mention not having to wait for Tom to come home so he can "babysit" while you exercise!!! Isn't that so funny and true! As a stay at home mom (or in your case, as a stay at home super-mom)when ANYONE else takes care of the kids, it's like a special favor, even if it's their DAD! I know you didn't mean it like that, but I still think it's funny. And I'll still tell Tom what a good babysitter he is when I see him playing with your kids!
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