Walking away a winner....

When I started seeing my cardiologist, she told me she wanted me to start walking.  Interval walking -- you know, walk for a time, walk faster for a few minutes, slow down, speed up, etc.  Either/or start walking up the stairs more.  Something to get my heart rate up.  So, I started walking up the stairs at home once or twice a day, in addition to walking down the stairs at work at least twice, and up them at least once, per day.  I'd have a good routine going, then I had surgery and stopped.  Started again, overdid it, stopped.  Started again, caught a cold, stopped.  Well, today I got on the treadmill.  Why the treadmill and not outside now that the weather has warmed up?  A few reasons: 
  • It's raining, so that right there would do it. 
  • The treadmill keeps me at a steady pace.  Also, I can track it, and hopefully see an improvement in time, distance, and speed as time goes on. 
  • The treadmill has something I can hold on to in case I lose my balance, which has been known to happen.  ;) 
  • I honestly wasn't quite sure how a sports bra would work without wearing the breast form.  Didn't really want to try that out in public.
I figured I would start off slow, and seeing as how tired I always am, thought I'd only last about five minutes.  I've used the Couch25K app before, and thought it would be perfect for what my cardiologist wants me to do.  So I used that.  I ended up actually walking a bit faster than I thought I would, and I actually jogged on the jogging parts (I had planned on walking faster, not jogging; I am soooo not a jogger.).  I didn't go the whole thirty minutes that it lasts, but I did last longer than I thought I would.  The first and last five minutes were a slower walk (warm-up and cool down), and the ten minutes in between alternated between 1 1/2 minute walks and 1 minute jogs. 

What surprises me is that my shoulders are sore.  I'm sure my legs will be sore tomorrow.

Here's proof:   :)


Lines from a Kathy Mattea song come to mind:
¯¯¯¯
"You nearly took everything I have
I never knew I could hurt so bad
But at least I left with every piece of this heart of mine.
I'm walking' away a winner, walkin' away from a losin' game
With my pride intact and my vision back I can say
I know where I'm going and I know I'll be alright
I'm walkin' away a winner, walkin' back into my life."    
¯¯¯¯

The whole song doesn't fit the situation, but here's a link if you want to hear the tune:
Walking Away a Winner, Kathy Mattea


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