I keep putting this post off because I keep thinking I’ll be back at the gym “tomorrow”.  But obviously, I haven’t been back in quite some time.  DaniD and I just have different summer schedules and it stinks.

I’m afraid I may have to cancel my membership at the gym this month.  I can’t really justify spending the money if I’m not going to be able to go at least 4 days a week.

My membership is paid through mid-July and it requires a 30 day notice so I’ll have to pay next month’s as well.  That will give me until mid-August.  So I still have a good bit of time there.

I don’t have any intentions of abandoning the blog or my workouts though.   I have the exercise ball here at the house and now the Wii Active.  And hopefully, I’ll be able to use the Wii fit soon as well.  My first investment when we are in a new house is going to be a treadmill.  I never wanted one because I never thought I would use one.  But I really look forward to walking at the gym now and I definitely think I would use one at home.

I am supposed to do my first 5K this coming Saturday but without being able to hit the treadmill for the last couple of weeks, I won’t be able to.  I have an injury to the back of one of my heels and it needs to be worked out slowly.  I can’t just hop back on for the first time since hurting it and do 2 miles… which is what I would need to do tomorrow in order to get ready for Saturday.  So, I’m a little sad about missing the 5K.

Hopefully I can get 1 mile in tomorrow with little to no pain and then I can slowly get back to normal.

So I woke up a little late this morning.  Jumped up to get ready and was happy that DaniD was running late too… I assumed, since she hadn’t called.  I was mostly ready and took my time doing a few things.  Before I knew it, it was almost 10 minutes before 5:00!

So I sent DaniD a text.  Sometimes my service is bad at the house and so now I was afraid she was trying to call or text and couldn’t get through.

Surely I didn’t miss her.  I woke up about the time we normally leave… so I thought maybe I had.

I waited until a little after 5:00 and decided to go back to bed.  I think I received a text from DaniD saying she had over-slept as well!  I was just thankful nothing was wrong.  No reply to the texts and dropped calls when I tried to call.

I started to get The Hubs up at 7:00 instead of 7:30 so that he and The Kiddo could run be over to the gym for about an hour.  I was really frustrated.  NOT at DaniD… stuff happens.  You know?  But just at the situation.  It just always seems like something happens to keep me from working out at least one day a week.  And today was a crucial day too.

However, when I got out of bed this morning, the backs of my heels were hurting so badly.  They have been hurting for the last few days but not this badly.  I’ve been keeping ice on them but it doesn’t seem to be helping.

The pain is actually mostly behind my heel but not up by the ankle.  It is rather severe at this point and hurts even when I am not walking or standing.  If I rotate my foot at the ankle… the pain in the heel flairs up.

So I’ve been trying to read up on it and it seems everything suggest going to the doctor if I’m not exactly sure of what type of problem I’m having… and I’m not.

Unfortunately, my FNP only works Monday – Wednesday.  And no one else in the office works late hours but her.  So I won’t be able to get in to see anyone until Monday!

I’ll stay off of them until then, as much as possible.  Keep icing and taking some anti-inflammatories.  But if they get any worse, or show no improvement… I’m pretty sure I’ll have to find somewhere else to go before then.

Any info or experience tips would be much appreciated!

Dear YMCA T-Shirt Guy,

I am officially grossed out by the fact that I have been coming to the gym about 4 days a week for nearly two months, you are there every day, and you’ve never wiped down one piece of equipment. *shudder*

Who’d have ever thought that the five signs posted all over the front were for you too? Weird concept, I know.

Since I do part of your workout by wiping down the machines after you, before I use them, maybe you should pay for part of my membership.

Come on dude. That’s just funky!

I woke up feeling a little cruddy today and that’s no way to spend your birthday! So I sent DaniD a text and we decided to go back to bed and take on the gym this evening instead.

Day two of “4 Weeks to a 5K”. Today was simply 30 minutes. I didn’t have to worry about distance or even speed. Just 30 minutes on the treadmill.

It was nice to be able to walk just for the sake of walking. When I started feeling like I was pushing it today, I slowed down a bit. No worries.

Tomorrow is a day of rest. I’ll still be hitting the gym to take on some weights. No treadmill though. It will be really nice to not have to rush through the weights and be able to get a little of everything in.

Except arms of course… Just ice and heat for them. Good news is, I didn’t hold on to the rails today!

The best birthday gift… I’ve lost 2 pounds.  I hadn’t updated my weight in 2 months!  Because I hadn’t lost any even with all the days at the gym.  I had actually gained a pound back at some point.  I think the new eating habits are working already!

On the treadmill that is. It’s really hard to walk fast. Or maybe hard isn’t the right word. It’s awkward. It’s difficult to keep your balance. I’ll be so thankful when I’m able to jog.

I completed my first day of “4 Weeks to a 5K” today. 1.5 miles in 33:35. I surprised myself, not one “rest”. I usually try to go 15 minutes and then rest for a minute or two. But today I just lowered my speed a bit when I felt like I needed to rest.

I stayed at 2.5 mph or higher today. And hit 3.0 mph for the first time.

At about 2.8 mph, it starts to get uncomfortable. Not hurting, or too much work. It’s just hard to walk with good balance that fast. Of course, on the treadmill, I have the handles in front of me and the rails to the side. Unfortunately, I choose to use the side rails instead of the ones in the front. And I’ve done something ugly to one of my shoulders.

Big thanks to Mac Chick for figuring out what my trouble was. Now I know not to hold on that way!

This is what stinks… at 3.0 mph, I feel like I could be doing a slow jog. i could be wrong though, that might be even more awkward. But until I lose quite a bit more weight then jogging is out of the question.

I can do it, it intervals. I did it when we first started out at The Dark and Scary Place. I mean, after all, I had to practice running (or jogging) away from the Zombies. Right?

But my knees paid the price. But this is just another thing that is driving me to lose the weight.

And along that line, I have a few new things going on with my diet.

*  Back to yogurt in the mornings before workouts instead of granola bars. It’s only a handful fewer calories but every little bit helps.
*  SlimFast for breakfast. Not really doing the whole two-a-day diet thing. Just replacing the one meal.
*  Splitting meals with Ella when we eat out. Saving money this way too!
*  Working hard to make sure I stick to taking meds and vitamins every day.

Looking forward to getting My Weight-Loss Coach for my Nintendo DS. And a new tennis racket… if I can find anyone to play with.

Sorry this post is sort of all over the place. It’s late. 30 minutes plus weights in the morning. I’m out.

Okay so… got my butt kicked on the treadmill today. Why is it so freakin hard to walk on a treadmill as compared to walking at an outside track? Also, I do so much better on an eliptical – odd really.

So I haven’t blogged in a while and I think I let myself get into a bit of a rut. Why? you ask… well I have hit goals and thought I was safe – in that sweet spot where I will just keep going… however we aren’t like the earth and constantly rotating… we are more like merry go rounds and need someone pushing. So I lost my momentum and was in a routine and for me – routine isn’t great, in fact its an energy drain. I need to update and move and grow out of the mold.

I’m in this weird place where I’m growing to love working out and pushing myself and also really frustrated that I can’t do the things I thought I could. My back is hurt for some odd strange reason – but I need to learn to operate regardless of that one.

So – new goals – 5 am workouts this week and then bumping it up to 2 a day. I want to add in an after work walk or swim. Off we go… Slacker NO MORE!!!!!!

I am lucky to be part of a wonderful group of work-at-home moms called The Mom Pack.

I posted to the group in April, in search of sponsors for GottaLoveYourBody.com.  DaniD and I were looking for gym bags and were happy to accept one in exchange for advertising and blogging.

I received a reply from Magali Vitale (Maggie) from ProudTots.com.  She stated that in the gym, she uses one of the diaper bags that she sells.  I wasn’t really sure about using them until I went to the site and took a look at the description.

That was all it took.  I thought they were perfect! They have a surface that you can wipe clean.  Two insulated bottle holders that work for water bottles as well.  And I even thought the changing pad would be nice to put down on the counter-top just to have a clean, dry surface for cosmetics etc…

And I was right.  It is a cute little back for the gym and the bottle holders are great for water and the changing pad isn’t too thick and is great to lay your cosmetics out on.

There was only one problem… a big problem, in my opinion.  Customer Service!

Here’s a run-down of how this barter took place:

Maggie and I eMailed back and forth on April 21st to discuss the product and terms of the sponsorship.  Maggie was going to receive a review as well as 6 months of advertising per bag.  After we agreed and I let her know where to send the bags, I didn’t hear from her for about 6 days.  Then she eMailed me again to ask me to send her my address… again.  She replied that day, letting me know that one was shipping out the same day and the other would be shipping the following day.  And she let me know that she was shipping them with a return address of a Hospital.  Which I thought was weird.

Honestly, I assumed she worked there and was using their mail room to send them.  And probably didn’t want to send too much at once to avoid suspicion.

I received the bag for DaniD on the 29th and sent an eMail to Maggie to let her know.  I also asked again for the wording for her ad.  She replied letting me know that she would be sending mine “tomorrow”.  What happened to it being sent on the 28th?  No response about the text ad.

I didn’t receive my bag until May 4th.  And when I did, I was disappointed.  It was just the bag.  No bottle holders, no changing pad.  I also had to partially assemble DaniD’s bag.  The handles buckle on.  My bag was already assembled and the stitching on the handles was worn.  It looked like I had received a bag that was “gently” used.  Maybe a return or something?  I don’t know.  Maggie assured me that it was not though.

Maggie eMailed me on the 5th to ask if I had received my bag.  She also sent me a 66 word text ad… for her 25 word spot… so I had to re-do the ad myself and get it down to 25.

I let her know that I had received the bag but that I was a bit upset that she had not sent the entire product.  Her reply was that she thought I wouldn’t need those items because I was using it for the gym.

I’m confused.  Why did she send them with the first bag then?  If I had actually paid her the $22 for the bag and told her it was for the gym, would she still have only sent half the product?  My ad space and review time are just as good as cash… that’s what bartering is all about right?  Not to mention, her description of the bag actually says that it is great for a gym bag and says it includes the three items she left out.

She then asked me to return the bag, at my expense, and only give her half of the advertising time. And I let her know that I wasn’t planning to return the bag but that I did expect to receive the rest of the product.

She replied, letting me know that it was my fault that I didn’t receive the items… because I requested a “Duffel Bag” and not a “Baby Bag”.  Again, not sure why it matters…  She stated there is a “big difference” in the two.  But I don’t get it… who cares?  Product is product.  Doesn’t matter what the customer is using it for.

She stated that she would send the “extras”.  Since when is something that you paid for considered an “extra”? And she said she hoped that this did not effect my review.  And asked that I let her know when the review was up.

Four days later, she said she was sending the accessories. And asked again that I let her know when the review was posted.

Three days later, she sent another eMail asking me to let her know when the review is posted.  At this point, I still had not received the complete product.  Not sure how I was supposed to do a review.

The following day, I had posted to The Mom Pack, stating that I was looking for another member who owed payment to me.  For some reason, Maggie replied to my post with, “And I am looking for you!”  I didn’t know I was lost.

I let her know that I had not received the accessories nor had I done the review… so I didn’t feel there was a need to reply to every eMail from her asking me to inform her of when the review was posted.

I did let her know at this point that I felt she had really been treating me poorly as a customer.  She asked that this “misunderstanding” not effect my review.  Now really, had it just ended with the “misunderstanding” then it probably wouldn’t have.  But to continue to tell me that it was my fault and to act like I had run off with your product and was ignoring your eMails, that was where I felt I was treated badly.  I would never argue with a customer over my own mistake.  Honestly, even if it were the customers mistake… I’d pay the $2 extra to ship the accessories out to them right away.

I told Maggie that it certainly would not effect my review of the product but that it would effect my review of her, the business and her customer service.

The last reply I received was:

“Don’t bother with the blog or reviews.”

Sorry for the super long review.  But I am obligated to display her ad for the next year, and I really don’t want anyone getting treated this way and it looking bad on me.  I don’t recommend doing business with her.

The bags are great.  Unfortunately, she claims to be the manufacturer.  So I don’t think I’ll be able to find them anywhere else for you all.  So I’ll keep looking for something new.

I like being able to tell people about items they can purchase from work-at-home moms or even small business… it’s the way to go!

Week 4

Monday: 1.5 Miles
Tuesday: 30 Minutes
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 1.75 Miles
Friday: 35 Minutes
Saturday: 15 Minutes
Sunday: Rest

Week 3

Monday: 2 Miles
Tuesday: 40 Minutes
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 2.25 Miles
Friday: 45 Minutes
Saturday: 20 Minutes
Sunday: Rest

Week 3

Monday: 2.5 Miles
Tuesday: 50 Minutes
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 2.75 Miles
Friday: 55 Minutes
Saturday: 25 Minutes
Sunday: Rest

Week 1

Monday: 3 Miles
Tuesday: 60 Minutes
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 30 Minutes
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 5K Walk!
Sunday: Celebratory Brunch with your 5K buddies!

I’m gearing up for my first 5K, but I only have 4 weeks. The above is my modified version of an 8 week plan. Thanks to @donitabrown for sharing this link to an 8 Week 5K Training. This guide is for walkers and I really think it is the best one I’ve seen.

June 27, 2009 will be a milestone for me.  I’ll be completing my first 5K.  Definitely something that I never thought I could do.

I just finished my 4 week plan.  I need to stick to it, for sure, if I want to be ready to do this. Training time.

I think it will be helpful to others so I’m going to give it a static page here on the blog.  Look for it in the left menu shortly.

This morning, for the first time in several weeks, I left the house with two bottle of water.

When we first started getting close to two miles in the mornings, I drank about one and a half bottles of water while walking. And the other half as soon as I got in the car.

Lately, I’ve been leaving the house with only one bottle. Well of course, I can only do so much with one bottle of water. Even though I was being cautious with by legs and now back… there wasn’t even a chance that I was going to try to walk on those days.

Maybe this doesn’t make any sense to anyone but me. But it just felt good to go this morning, knowing I was prepared to do as much as my body would allow. Even if I stopped at one bottle… the other one was there and waiting.

So sorry if this sounds silly. But maybe it will mean something to someone else too.