I’ve made a terrible mistake. This was my first thought when I put on my new rucksack with 20lbs in it. It’s definitely not what I was expecting. After walking around for all of three minutes, I took it off and sat down. That’s when I realized I have a lot of training to do before the 5k ruck in April.
Reality Check
A lot has happened in the last week. For starters, I got my rucksack. Then, last Thursday, we took my measurements. Boy, oh boy, was that brutal! The measurements we took include: weight, blood pressure, heart rate, bmi, body fat %, waist size, hip size, and grip strength. We will take these every month so I can make an awesome graph to show my progress (hopefully). One quick thing about me: I love charts and graphs! If I can put data into a graph, you better believe I’m going to! I think it’s because I’m such a visual person.
Anyway…I was not expecting the reality check that happened. Previously, I mentioned that I haven’t consistently worked out in over a year. Going into this, I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. I can tell that my body has changed (and not in a good way). I wasn’t prepared for this, though. I’m not going to tell you my measurements, but I will say that I’ve never been this out of shape in my life!
Stubbornness for the Win
As I was looking over my results, part of me just wanted to go ahead and quit. There’s something about seeing that hard data that’s so discouraging. However, I’m extremely stubborn (thanks, Dad) and that part of me took over. There were only two options at that moment: 1) quit, and things will continue to go downhill or 2) keep going, and things will change for the better. I chose the second option. For the first time, I feel committed to working out and really putting in the effort. As much as that reality check hurt, I needed it.
Accomplishments
I completed the full workout last Thursday! Although I didn’t enjoy doing it, I felt accomplished once I was done. I was surprised by how much energy I had that evening. I played with my 3 (almost 4) year old son and was able to keep up! That’s not a simple task! I was sore Friday, but Saturday was worse. For me, day 2 after exercising is always when I’m the most sore, so no surprises there.
Suffering Together is Better Than Alone
On Tuesday, I worked out again. Carson joined me this time. I’ve found that working out with someone helps get me through it faster and pushes me to go harder. Especially when that person does the same workout as you, not only with heavier weights, but also while wearing a 20lb weighted vest. I’m obviously not on that level. I’m proud of the work I put in, though.
Working out with someone else also makes it more enjoyable. At the end of our workout, we put on our rucksacks (with 20lbs inside) and walked around the Council House Square for 10 minutes. I’ll be honest, I was winded by the time we finished. There’s a lot of work to be done before I can take on the 5k!
Today marks one full week of working out consistently (whoop whoop)! I’m keeping tabs of these small milestones. They keep me moving forward and it helps it seem less overwhelming. One day at a time, right?
The biggest change for me, over this last week, has been my reasoning/attitude. Before we took my measurements, I was doing this to prepare for the 5k. That was my motivation, and if I’m honest it wasn’t a strong motivation. Now, my focus has shifted to getting in better shape. I have the hard data and I’m going to do my best to improve that data. Next time we do measurements I want to feel encouraged. I want to see that my work is paying off, and the only way to do that is to put in the work. Am I still going to hate it? Yes. Is that going to stop me? No.
“One can never have enough socks.” – Albus Dumbledore
– Lacie