A Few Lessons Learned

This is not all about those life lessons I've learned along the way. Not that it would take me so long because I've learned so much rather, it would take more than a blog post or ten to discuss the frustrations of the lessons that I stubbornly refuse to learn.

No, this is about the lessons I've learned regarding empty nest fitness. Hey, at least I'm learning something.

What I've learned about personal fitness:

• Having a fitness buddy doesn't work for me. I prefer to workout by myself because I work at my own pace and I change, frequently, what I am going to do each day. Right now, I'm working hard on running and having someone doing it with me would be fatal to my efforts. I probably enjoy running because it's such a loner thing to do anyway. 
• No matter what workout I choose, the process is long. It takes a LONG time to get fit once you've been sedentary for years. 
• Noticing the little changes on a daily basis is much better than setting a long term goal for myself. I need to see positive differences as quickly as possible or else I'll get frustrated and shut down. When I run and notice something fitting looser, for example, I am very motivated to run the next time. And I feel good all day long.
• When I do start to get winded or tired while running, I remind myself that there was a time when I could only run about 30 feet before I had to stop. Seriously. Thirty. Feet. This memory drives me to keep going. 
• I can overcome challenges to fitness. At first I had to overcome being so overweight that exercising was rough. Really rough. But I kept going. Now, I'm still overweight (though not as much) but my fitness level has increased a ridiculous amount. I can run up the stairs at school whereas a few years ago I could hardly walk up a flight of stairs. I can for 27 minutes whereas, a few years ago, I couldn't run more than 30 feet at a time. I can walk anywhere for any distance. I can complete a Julian Michaels' workout and feel refreshed instead of doing a half-assed job and feeling like I was dying. There are so many things I can do now. Like, live. 
• I have control over my negative self. I can take him down quicker than the blink of an eye. Seriously, as soon as I even have a remote feeling that he is about to sabotage me, I shut him down. He doesn't even get the first word out of his mouth anymore. 
• I am not one to pick a workout and stick with it. I have changed my workouts so much that I wonder if I could remember them all. And that's ok for me. Right now, running- whether Couch 2 5K or interval-- is working and I enjoy it. But, with my track record, it's subject to change. 
• I finally learned to take a break as soon as something doesn't feel right. This has made a huge difference in the amount of time I have to stay away from working out. Before, I would just go until I was hurt and had to stop for a month or so. Now, it's no more than a day or two. 
• I've learned that ice is my BFF when it comes to working out. 
• I have learned to slow down and appreciate the journey. 

This whole fitness thing has been a long journey. And it's far from over. Once you start it, you never stop. But, really, why would you want to? It makes you feel so much better. It leads to self discovery. It wards off illness. It makes you look better. It will make you life longer. What's not to love about getting fit?!