Milwaukee Fashion + Lifestyle Blog
Well, it’s Friday, but I am realizing that it’s better late than never for my Wellness Update for Week 4. If you’ve seen my IG, you know that my life for the past two weeks have been a little crazy with two separate trips to California, a concert, a Gals That Brunch event, and the rest of my life squeezed in between. Unfortunately, with all of that going on, the end of Week 4 wasn’t as active as I would have liked it to be, but sometimes you just need to rest. I’m done with the shame and guilt of not living up to what I think I should have done. I’m doing my best everyday to try to be a better version of myself and that deserves celebration, not shame.
With that, I’m also sharing a decision I made that I’m working to accept and not feel guilty about. You know the half marathon that I was “training” for. Well, it’s this weekend. It was the Half Marathon portion of the Milwaukee Marathon event and this week I made the decision to change my registration to participate in the 5K instead. If you’ve ever ran a half marathon, you know it’s not necessarily something you want to go into without too much training. Over the past few months, I’ve been training here and there, but especially in the past few weeks, it’s fallen off. It’s not like I haven’t been doing anything. You probably know I’ve made my Barre classes at Barre District in Bay View more of a priority during the challenge, and I had envisioned myself doing two a days and getting my runs in as well, but that didn’t quite happen. I have mentioned that this would be my last half marathon, and though I may have already ran my last one, I just wasn’t in it as much as I was hoping to be.
When I first started training for the two half marathons I’ve ran in the past two years, I figured it would be an extreme and effective way to lose weight. That hasn’t quite happened, and I think it’s because I wasn’t 100% loving it. I do enjoy running, but training for early Spring half marathons in Wisconsin is not ideal, because treadmills are not that exciting. I love participating in the runs because they’re outdoors, I can enjoy the scenery, and get some fresh air. So now I’ve realized that winter training and long runs are just not my thing. Maybe I haven’t run my last half marathon, but it’ll be a summer or fall event for me in the future that allows me ample time and weather to run outside and enjoy what I love most about running – nature.
Another thing I’ve realized over the past few months, specifically since starting the Barre Life Challenge at Barre District is…
The second point has really been hit home in the past few weeks since I started working with Justine of Crunches Then Cocktails for her 21-Day Kickstart program. Like with anything in life, you should avoid doing things that you don’t enjoy just because you feel like you should do them or you have to. Exercising, eating, and living a healthy life are things you should do because they make you feel good and you love doing it, not because it’s an obligation. I enjoyed some of my runs because I’ve always been an athlete, I love to sweat (when appropriate), and the runners’ high is nothing to sneeze at. But I realized I don’t need to be training for a half marathon to run. If and when I do is because it’s what my body and mind wants to do because it feels good and will help get me closer to my goals. With all of that said, I am going to be running a 5K tomorrow in downtown Milwaukee, and I couldn’t be more excited!
But let’s get back to Week 4. Like I said, this week was crazy with travel and other life events, but I’m happy that I made it a priority to move at least a little bit each day, make relatively healthy food choices, and get a decent amount of rest despite fighting the 2-hour time difference that comes with traveling between the Midwest and Cali. So let’s see what the numbers looked like…
Daily Breakdown:
Which all rolls up to…
Weekly Totals:
Could you believe that my average daily step count for Week 4 was ONE more step than the week prior? Crazy, but that one step is improvement and it is worth celebrating!
And here’s where the measurements ended up for the week.
With all of the travel and some lack of control over what was available for me to eat during the week, and knowing that I am continuing to improve my strength and build muscle, I’m not worried about the scale for this week. I’m seeing the results from my efforts in a number of different areas of my life. Some of my body measurements have dropped, I am feeling stronger and like I have more endurance during my workouts, I’m noticing improvements in my flexibility, and I’m sleeping very well (even though it’s rarely past 6am, thanks to Barre). Change is happening and that makes me very excited. When I went a few days without getting a sweat session in, I really felt out of sorts and to me, that’s a good sign.
Patience, determination, love, and confidence are what I need to get me through each day of this journey, and so far, I’d consider it a success. I’m happy with where I’m at and I’m excited about where I’m going. Each day is a new opportunity for me to get myself where I want to be, and I’m taking advantage of it!
