In like a Lion.....

All of my hard work last month, and I managed to bust my new goals on day one this month! To add insult to injury, I didn't even realize that I had messed up my new routine until I was riding home from work having a conversation on the phone with my husband when he asked me how the new walks around my office were going. As he continued to commend me for thinking outside of the box, I was processing the fact that on my very first day of the new month, I had completely forgotten one of my new goals. FAIL!!!!

To add to my problems that day, I had decided that I would drink my additional two bottles of water at the end of the day in conjunction with my work-out. This seemed like a good idea at the time. It would insure that I was actually adding the water to my daily routine instead of simply replacing one of my regular drinks. I also thought it would help me hydrate better while I was working out. However, you may recall my blog entitled, "This might make you a little uncomfortable...". Clearly I should have known that downing two bottles of water at the end of the day would make it doubly challenging to get through my work-out with out any unpleasant side effects, and I should have also anticipated that the additional water late in the day would result in running back and forth to the bathroom all night. Considering that one of my hopes in working out was that I would sleep better, I had seriously made a tactical error that night. Overall day one of month two had not started off so well!

So day two, I decided I would take back control. I started my day with a bottle of water. I wasn't going to have a repeat of the day before. I was still , however, concerned that I would get caught up again at work. I have been known to be a little single focused when it comes to my job, so, pathetic as this may seem, I set an Outlook calender reminder to go off three times throughout the day to remind me to take my walk. If I was knee deep in a task when the reminder popped up, I simply postponed it for a short period of time to allow me to wind up what I was working on, and then took my jaunt around the building . This proved to be a successful strategy. Not only did the walk get my heart pumping, but it re-energized me. The walk was long enough to get my heart rate up, but not long enough to make me feel I was shirking my duties.

I actually began to feel like I was getting back on track, and then I managed to miss my Mammogram appointment. I arrived twenty minutes early, but it took thirty minutes to find parking. Once I checked in I was told by the appointment clerk, they would still be able to see me, but an hour later I had still not been called. When I finally inquired again about what the problem was, I was told the tech had gone to lunch thinking I was a no show, and they were now behind, so I would have to wait until they could fit me in between other patient appointments.  After sharing my displeasure, I was rescheduled for the Monday after next.

So far March was coming in like a lion, but I was determined not to let my stormy beginning deter me from my path. I headed to the gym after work, feeling pretty frustrated, but I managed to complete my work-out even after losing my balance and nearly falling off the elliptical and tripping over the base of the weight bench and barely missing the bodybuilder working next to me. Despite my klutziness and the frustrations of the last two days, I was surprised to realize that I felt renewed at the end of that work-out session. It occurred to me that I was finally reaching a point where the work-outs were not just work any more, but were actually a needed part of my daily routine now. They provided a great stress reliever for my hectic days and a sense of accomplishment. Who knew, maybe in a another month, I would be calling them fun.