I want my body back!

I remember the month before I gave birth. I was so anxious...mostly to hold my baby but partly (a big part) to get my body back. I didn't realize how lengthy the process would be for my body to return to normal, let alone the effort it would take. I don't know what I was imagining...that my abs would just snap back into shape and my skin would magically tighten? Well, that didn't happen. Not only that, but I am soooo weak. I guess that is what happens after 9 months of no strenuous exercise. Granted, I should have worked out more while I was pregnant. All I really did was go walking (a lot of walking) and climb the stairs in my home (which for a pregnant woman IS a real workout). I'll have to remember this and lift some light weights more often in my next pregnancy (I'm not making any announcements, if that's what you're thinking).

As a side note, right after I had Parker, Matt got a look at my stomach and started to laugh. Yeah, real sensitive of him. I kinda thought it was funny looking too: all flabby and loose. Six weeks later it isn't so funny. Now I just want it gone. It has shrunk a lot, but definitely still there.

The other day, all the boys in my family were having a one-armed push up contest. They encouraged me to do a push up. I thought I'd be able to do ten because that used to be easy. I got down on the ground and fell on my stomach. I couldn't even do one and I was shocked. I thought maybe I just didn't have the right form. I try again with the same result. I guess that is what happens when you don't do push ups for nearly a year.

I am committed to getting back into shape. Now that it has been six weeks, I feel well enough to exercise. I want to be able to do fun things like rock climb and snowboard. Another thing I really want to do is run a marathon. This has always been a goal of mine, but I have never found the time to do it. Well, it is now or never. 26 miles seems daunting right now when I can barely jog 1 mile, but the marathon isn't until September 19, 2009. Here is the training schedule I'm going to follow. Notice it doesn't start until January, so I have until then to build my current status (a slooow 1 mile) up to 3 or 4 miles. When I look at this schedule it doesn't seem so impossible. My sister-in-law Rachel and my mom are going to do this with me. Let me know if you are interested, too.