Peak 313 Challenge: Day.....??

Not sure what day of the challenge it is.
This past week has been a blur.

CajunGuy and I are contemplating a (semi-big) step forward and my stress level has been through the roof. (I promise to share details once everything is final!)

And for me stress is a HUGE asthma trigger. So the past 7 days I have found it hard to get my thoughts straight, let alone exercise. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to hopefully get myself out from under this dark asthma cloud that's been hanging around.

Growing up I was always terrified of not being able to breathe. I also feared dying by suffocation. So can I tell you how fan-flippin'-tastic it was that I was diagnosed with asthma earlier this year? 

Like having your hand dipped in a bucket of warm water while you sleep.
Yeah, sure you can take a shower and change your clothes but that pee stain on your mattress will always be there. 

A little reminder that your next bucket of warm water could be right around the corner.

Yes, dear readers, there is a chance I could be a wee bit...paranoid tired.
Yeah, tired. That's it...

Peak 313 Challenge: Day 9

How is it that just 2 people can turn a once-clean, small, 1100 sq. ft. home into a pig sty in just 3 days?!?

We have no children, no pets and next to no activity in the house during the day but I ALWAYS feel like I am cleaning. Dishes. Laundry. Dusting.

Does it multiply while I sleep??

Felt kinda run down with a headache that would. not. go. away.
Took it easy and just kept active by doing the housework today.

Feeling so disappointed. After a great week last week I was hoping it would carry over into this week, but it didn't.

Anyone else get like that sometimes?

Peak 313 Challenge: Day 8

So I have dropped the ball since Day 4.
I haven't been inactive, I just didn't dedicate 20-30 minutes of straight exercise for the past 4 days.

I feel like a bum.
But a well-rested bum!

Tomorrow is a new day, I suppose.
And hopefully the weather will feel fantastic.

I have to remember it's only one day at a time.
Thank goodness!

PS -- Anyone willing to kick my rear into gear? But just a gentle kick, please. :-)

Peak 313 Challenge: Day 4

Just a quick check-in: I did it!

My muscles stopped hurting and I was able to get in 15 minutes of walking.
Not the 25 minutes I was going for but something is better than nothing, right?

Tomorrow is Friday and I'm hoping to get my exercise in early so I have the rest of the day to do any-flippin'-thing I want!

I love Fridays!

Peak 313 Challenge: Day 3

The challenge today would be to get off the couch!

I really overdid it these past 2 days and now I'm paying for it.
I ache in places I didn't even know had muscles.

I am hesitant to take a day of rest because I know it could throw me off track.
I also know that if I don't I could very well end up on the couch for a week instead of just a day.

So here I am, sitting on the couch resting. Thanks to the energy I had on Day 1 the house is clean and the laundry is done. 

Thank goodness! :-)

The challenge resumes tomorrow. 
Hopefully my muscle pain doesn't follow suit.

Don't Be Alarmed

Dear readers:

Please do not be alarmed if you find me face down in bed this morning, snoring like a lumberjack.

It is just a reaction to the horrible thing that happened to my body yesterday.

You know, exercise.

Just make sure I'm not inhaling the sheets, m'kay?

Peak 313 Challenge: Day 2

Ugh!

After feeling so fantastic yesterday I'm a little disappointed that I feel so cruddy today. I don't know if it was the slightly more humid weather or my body's rebellion against what I did to it yesterday, but I couldn't exercise as much today.

I planned on going for at least 25 minutes but at the 15-minute mark my legs were screaming!
So I decided to just listen to my body and call it a day.
I still feel really good but maybe I should work up to 25 minutes a day instead of pushing myself?

I need a hot shower.
And a cookie.
Yes, a cookie.

Peak 313 Challenge: Day 1

I started the Peak 313 challenge today with good results!

I was nervous because I have (sadly) never really exercised since I was diagnosed with asthma. It was worrisome to do it alone just in case something happened.

And something did happen: I got tired quickly, I breathed heavy throughout the whole thing and got chased by the same dog 3 times. 

But something else happened too. I made it through! 
It was only a 30 minute walk around the block but I felt incredible when I got home. I now know I can do it.

I am so energized and perked up. I am even in the mood to make this incredible Sweet and Sour Chicken for dinner and have also done 2 loads of laundry since I got home from my walk.

Can someone just kick me for not starting to exercise months ago?!?

Oh, and I got an accountability partner too!
She blogs over at A Walk To Serenity.
And, after reading her About Me section I may have just found someone who understands what it's like to move from the city to the country.

Who says God doesn't have an incredible sense of humor?

Peak 313 Challenge

I was diagnosed with asthma 7 months ago.
Some days it seems like just a few days ago and other days it seems like years ago since I got my diagnosis.

I suffered for 6 weeks before anyone figured out what was wrong.
I was sure I was going to die.
And had it not been for my GP who never tired of seeing me in his office (at one point I had seen him 3 times in a week!) I probably would have.

And do you know what I have done with myself since then?
Not much, I'm ashamed to say.
My doctors have repeatedly told me that staying active, taking my medicine and avoiding my triggers would go a long way to helping me avoid complications.

All of that to say this: My name is Liz and I have a problem. I am a slacker.

But there's hope for me yet! I found an online community of people that I think will really help me to stay on track. The website is peak313.com and I don't know how I ended up there but I'm glad I did. It's a 5 week program and I'm hoping to see some measurable character changes.

My goal isn't so much weight loss (although that's important) so much as it's about just staying active. I think taking the pressure of weight loss off the table will go a long way in helping ol' slacker me stay on track. I'm not sure about following the site's activity list to a tee because of my current limitations, but I'm sure in a couple of weeks I'll be up to speed!

I don't have an accountability partner (yet!) but am starting the program tomorrow and will report here on the blog each week. 

Fingers crossed!

PS -- Could someone out there call me around 9am to see if I have met my activity goal for the day? Anyone? Anyone? ;-)

Irony

Know when hunting season officially opens this year? October 1st.

Know when my first wedding anniversary is? October 1st.

I am convinced God has a sense of humor. 
And a hunting license.

Dirt Road Lesson: Just Stand Up

Picture it: Cancun, Mexico about 12 years ago.
My Mom, brother and I had just landed in Cancun's airport, ready for our vacation.

The following exchange between my Mom and brother still tickles me:
Bro: "Look at all the foreigners!"
Mom: "Yes, son. And you're one of them!"

It was true. I guess we all forget that we can be foreigners at some point in our lives.

That's the truth for me right now. When I moved to CajunCountry, I became the foreigner.

I don't talk like anyone here.
I don't know this place like others do.
My friends and family aren't here and this is almost a foreign land, despite the fact that I am still in my home country. 

And this feeling reminds me of something so memorable about our vacation: the jet ski ride.

You see, this little outing in Cancun consisted of riding a rented jet ski to the middle of Cancun Bay to go snorkeling. My Mom and I had no interest in snorkeling, but my brother did. So we went.

After some training about how to use the jet ski and instruction about life vests, we suited up for the ride. Mom and I got paired up together and my brother rode with another man to the bay.

The whole way out there, the jet ski Mom and I were riding kept taking on water. The guides would pump it out and we'd just take on more.

On the ride back from snorkeling, the jet ski suddenly took on an incredible amount of water and veered off course, right into the bank of the Bay. 

We crashed. Hard. 
Mom and I were both knocked off the jet ski and into the water.
My Rosie the Riveter, we-can-handle-anything-Mom burst into hysterics.
She was flailing her arms and screaming for help.

I knew I would have to stay calm for both of us, y'know, just in case.
So I let myself sink a little to figure out what I was working with. 
"Mom! Just stand up!," I screamed.

By the grace of God, we had crashed in a shallow part of the Bay.
I'm talking 4 1/2 feet of water.
We just didn't know it.

The water was so murky that when we were knocked into it, all we knew to do was panic. It never occurred to us to find out if we even could stand up before we panicked.

So it is with me here in CajunCountry. For almost a year now I have been screaming for help and flailing my arms around, searching for any sign of rescue from this new way of life.

Turns out, I didn't need to be rescued. 

I just needed to figure out that I could stand up.

Thanks for a great laugh and a great memory, Mom!