back into the swing of things

Today was the first day of the rest of my life.

Q: What do you mean, Angela?
A: Today was the first day since May 22, 2008, that I completed actual cardiovascular activity with the goal of getting and staying in shape.

Q: You mean you've sat around like a slob for 2 months?
A: Well, under doctor's orders I couldn't "exercise" for 6 weeks... so that was a good excuse to do nothing and eat everything. I've taken walks with the Wes-man every now and then, but it's doubtful my heart rate got above 150 for any period of time.

Q: How did it feel?
A: It was tough. But it was worth it. I didn't push myself too far, since I have been on hiatus. You can't expect too much the first day back, you know.

Q: What did you do?
A: I went for a run. There's a 2-mile loop I like around where I live. The sun was out; it was nice. Actually, the timing of it is rather convenient (because I'd never work out if it wasn't convenient): Wesley went to bed at 10 last night, then woke to eat at 4:30 this morning (6.5 hours, whoo hoo!!). He was done and back in his crib sleeping semi-soundly at 5:15... and I decided to get changed and go for a run. I did 2 miles, came home and did stretches and core exercises on my stability ball, and took a shower all before Shane got up at 6:20. Pretty impressive if you ask me.

Q: Wow! You're a superwoman!
A: Ha ha. Tell that to my legs and arms and abs and everything else that hurts right now. But thanks. They say 9 months up, 9 months down. We'll see. I actually returned to my pre-pregnancy weight pretty fast (i.e., immediately), but since that was nothing impressive and I hadn't even started trying to get back into shape, I have plenty of motivation and have had plenty of time to mentally prepare for this new journey of mine. A long journey back into healthiness, that started this morning with a single step.

Best of luck to you all and your goals. Remember, today is the first day of the rest of your life. What do you want to change?