A Fantastic Walk/Jog Tonight Leads Me to Write

Chrystal Levy's story is very similar to mine

Since my unpleasant, adrenaline-pumping incidents on the streets of my neighbourhood last week, I've had plenty of feedback and heard many horrible stories. But most people soldier on, especially those whose health depends on it. Myself, I chose to keep walking past Angry Entitled Teenager's house because it's on my normal walking route.

This attitude applies to everything in life: Don't let your fears get the best of you, meet them head on. That said, I'm wired for confrontation. It has to do with a troubled upbringing. I have to get past that. If I seek confrontation, or don't avoid it when possible, I could run the risk of being in a violent situation when it is totally unnecessary. I've also watched a number of self-defence videos on YouTube that helped put me at ease.

In the last week or so I've been doing a little jogging every night instead of 6 or 7 minutes twice per week. Depending on how I felt I might do as little as thirty seconds, just to spice up my walk, or a couple of bouts of two minutes. I wanted to try something different to see how my body and fitness level would respond. Then last night I just walked without any jogging so I could rest up for a longer jog tonight.

Tonight was fantastic. I was strong, my heart rate was relatively moderate and I barely broke a sweat. On other nights I will seek out a higher (85%) heart rate by running slightly faster, at least for a while at the end, and I'll welcome the inevitable buckets of sweat, but tonight, it was comforting to have my seven minute jog seem almost effortless.

My goal with running is to gradually increase it and add some spice to my workout routine beyond just walking. It really is great to get the heart pumping for a sustained period. It's the greatest natural drug you can get. If you absolutely refuse to ever try a little running, I know a couple of women who do Zumba (Latin dance workouts.)

I saw a story on the national news Friday night about a woman who very much reminded me of me and my journey in the last few months. She was feeling sore, drained of energy and very immobile. She started walking and she's a very different woman today. You can watch the video of the news story here. Think of me when you do and know that I spend my days looking forward to my next workout.