Sunday: Started Soggy, Stayed Soggy

I suppose this morning was the ultimate test of my commitment. For about 50 minutes, Fran and I slogged through a pouring rain to complete our Sunday morning walk on the Greenbelt. Puddles that were minor pools when we first saw them were minor ponds on the return trip. At one point, it even appeared to be raining tiny frogs. They were everywhere.

This had to happen on the day I decided to wear a fitted t-shirt. Usually I wear baggy shirts (body image + all my shirts are too big), but today I decided to wear one that actually had shape. Needless to say, by the time we finally got the cool breeze Fran anticipated, I had turned the Greenbelt into my very own wet T-shirt contest. The frogs didn't seem impressed.

I had planned to go to Target after our walk, but considering that I had to wring out my clothes before I could even get in the car, I detoured by the house, peeled off to the skin, toweled off, combed my hair and set out again. A normal person would have showered first, but considering that it was still raining steadily, I figured, what the hell.

At Target, I bought the prize I won for making my challenge of 500 minutes extra walking in August. It's a teeny tiny iPod Shuffle (the silver one, so that it doesn't clash with my workout wear.) I'm now busily searching the web for walking/workout songs to download while it charges. And since I didn't get the iPod nano I had originally planned on getting, I added a heart rate monitor watch to the prize pool. It was on clearance for $36. It says my resting pulse rate is 77-79, but I don't know how accurate that is. I have an assessment with the trainer this week, and I'll try it then to see how the results compare.

For my September challenge, the definition of extra walking is changing. Part of my lifestyle change is a commitment to a minimum of 30 minutes exercise six days a week. Three days a week is trainer time. The other days, I walk and do some floor exercises outside the training studio. Since 30 minutes is my minimum (15 on trainer days), I'm only going to count what I do beyond that in September. My goal is 300 minutes for the month. That's truly extra time. The other is my new lifestyle. I had 70 minutes extra for the first week of the month, and I feel like that should have been 75, but I'm sure I'll make it up on my Chicago trip, which begins this week.

And now it's time for my last trip out into the wetness. Might as well end the day the way I started it.