Fitness

Many years ago, over 10 years ago I believe, I started running.  I loved it!  I've never been very fast, but I love the feeling of satisfaction you get from a tough workout.  I ran several 5Ks the first few years I started running.  Then my right knee decided it had had enough.  I tried rest and physical therapy, saw an orthopedic surgeon, had an MRI done, bought specially designed insoles, and nothing could be found.  But the pain never went away.  It took only a couple of minutes of running for the outside of my knee to hurt.  I pretty much had to give up on running at that point and it stunk.

After we made our big move about 10 years ago, we found ourselves living near a bike shop.  Bryan and I both bought bikes and we trained to do Ragbrai.  It was a challenging week, but so worth it. The following summer, I was pregnant with Jack, so riding was put on the back burner.  I believe that's about the time that Bryan started racing a bit.  When Jack was about 9-10 months old, I tried cycling again as part of my exercise regimen.  This time my left knee decided to be a problem!  Again, I tried many things to get my knee to cooperate and nothing worked.  Running wasn't working, cycling wasn't working...  I felt defeated.

At that point, I joined a gym.  It was expensive both upfront and with the monthly payments.  However, I had access to lots of weights, treadmills, a pool, and stationary bikes.  I was able to stay semi-fit, but nothing spectacular.  After Bryan lost his job, one of the monthly expenses that had to go was my gym membership.  I was extremely worried that I wouldn't be able to exercise, especially in the winter months!

A friend recommended that I read a blog called Blonde Ponytail.  It has been a lifesaver!!!!  She has so many workouts that can be done inside your home with minimal equipment.  A lot of her workouts include squats, push-ups, planks, and lunges.  They work all parts of your body.  Some are done with weights, some without.  I have a ton of workouts on my pinterest board that help me keep track of my favorites.  Besides a set of dumbbells that I alternate between 7 and 12 pounds, I use an app on my phone to keep me moving through the workouts.  The app is called Seconds Pro and if you get the non-free version, you can save all your workouts to be used again & again!

I try to workout at least 3 times a week.  This is hard during the school year, when juggling activities with the kids and my own busy schedule!  Bryan and I really have to work together to help each other find time for our own fitness activities and goals.  After doing a lot of the workouts from Blonde Ponytail for about a year, I feel so much stronger than I have ever been.  I can now run on a regular basis for at least 15-20 minutes at a time without my knees hurting!  Some days I alternate running with walking when my knees are acting up.  I went for a long bike ride today and my knees hardly hurt at all!  As I go back to work in my classroom tomorrow, I will have to carve out time each week for workouts and some weeks will be better than others.  But I plan to stick with my 3 times a week goal to stay strong and able to run and bike with no pain.  Maybe I'll even get back into shape enough to run a few 5Ks again sometime soon!