Getting back to it.

This week is playing out a little more on the "normal" side.  All the kids are well again and back to school, and our days are quickly filling up with miscellaneous activities.

Yesterday I started my day with a 5 mile walk at the park after getting the kids off to school.  Then I came home and did a Yoga DVD.  After lunch, my friend Holly called and asked if I wanted to join her for a run in the afternoon before the kids were out of school.  Even though I hadn't planned to run yet since my legs were still sore, I was so eager to get to see her and have a chance to "chat" for an hour or so, I told her I would.

I am not used to running in the middle of the day.  Not at all.  It was only about 80 degrees and a little windy, but it felt much warmer.  We ran a 5 mile loop and it only took us 49 minutes (9:43 pace), and that includes that we walked for about a half mile in there while we were trying to catch our breath, drink some water and recover from going hard in the heat for the first 3 miles.  In the end, I was glad I ran with Holly.  I didn't even have much hamstring pain.  Now I think I feel more comfortable trying out a longer run tomorrow.

After dinner last night, I met Chris at the gym where we did a spinning class together.  It was a particularly hard class. The instructor kept things high intensity from the get-go all the way to the end of the hour.  Don't get me wrong, I loved every second of it.  I love feeling challenged, and being reminded of how much work I still need to do.  Does anyone else ever feel like our potential as humans is limitless, yet progression seems so slow?  Some days I feel like that.  I work my butt off during the classes I take at the gym, and I do it because I enjoy it in the moment and I particularly love how I feel when I'm done.  But sometimes I wish I could see and feel the effects of the hard workouts more distinctly.

This morning I was back at the gym.  I started with 20 minutes of weights: biceps and chest.  After that I went to a spin class and enjoyed another super sweat-fest.  Tonight after dinner I will again be meeting Chris at the gym (he gets 1 hour of paid workout time, so he meets me there at the end of his shift).  We're going to take the Muscle Fusion class with our favorite instructor.  This is the less intense version of the class I've been taking on Thursday afternoons.  At least it's supposed to be less intense.  I don't know yet, since this will be my first time taking this class, so we'll see. :)