I'm Baaaack...

And feeling good since I started to run again this morning. It was harder than I thought. I knew that I wouldn't be able to run the 4 or 5 minutes I had been before I got pneumonia, but I really didn't think it would be as hard as it was.

Tom and I went to a 1-1/4 mile trail about a mile from our house. He rode his bike (recovering from a badly broken leg) and I walked/ran. I carried my timer with me and started out with a warm up walk for 4 minutes, then began to run. I thought I would just see how long I could go. My legs didn't get tired. My lungs did. I ran 2 minutes the first time, then a 1 minute walk. I could tell it was going to be hard. After the third time, I had to walk 2 minutes to catch my breath. I started running again for 2 minutes, but increased my time between runs to 1-1/2 minutes. That helped until the last 8 minutes. I just couldn't run 2 minutes any longer so I changed and ran 1 minute and walked 1 minute, then walked to cool down for about 4 minutes for a total of 38 minutes.

Tom and I have also been on a low-carb diet for the last couple of weeks. I lost 6 pounds; Tom lost 3 pounds. I hate the diet. It really sucks! No fruit. No oatmeal. I am going back to low fat and portion control. I lose a lot slower, but I feel better and don't have cravings.

I think I really need to take control. Make changes. Be the change. As my grandson would say, "Be the water." I think it is the slogan for a skateboard company, but it makes sense to me.

It Wasn't a Cold Afterall...

It was pneumonia. When my "cold" didn't get any better in the usual 5 to 7 days, I saw the doctor. I have been taking my meds and swigging cough syrup for two days so that I can actually sleep instead of cough so hard my lungs spew... well, never mind. Obviously, I haven't run or walked or done anything physical. Just cough and sleep.

I feel better physically already, but I still feel a little weak. I am anxious to get back to my run/walk routine. Doc says wait through the weekend to run, but I can start walking on the weekend as much as I feel able. I think I will pretty much have to start over. I hope that's not the case, but it's okay, if it is. I just want to start again.

And, how was real estate school, you ask?? Good and Bad. First of all, I was sick both days, but I wasn't about to try to do this again in June or July. So, Tom and I registered Saturday morning and we each received our binders that contained chapter outlines and details..."All you ever wanted to know about real estate, but were afraid to ask." We weren't looking forward to the long class days... 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., but we got plenty of breaks both days and were dismissed early as well. Saturday was good, even though I coughed my way through it. I learned a lot. Grasped real estate terms and concepts. The teacher, Keith, who is also the owner of the school, was sort of funny in an Arkansas-kind-of-way, trying hard to interject stupid jokes into his lectures (I am born and raised in California... our humor is really different). But he is also very knowledgeable, having spent a number of years in real estate as well as having his law degree, and was able to communicate extremely well and kept us focused and interested.

Sunday Keith didn't show, but we were blessed with Tera's presence! She is all her name implies. Oh...My...God. The woman looked part Goth, part winter, part Southern big haired gal, part grown-ass-woman-trying-to-be-hip-young-hottie and was a complete Air Head! She swooshed (really, she swooshed) in late. "Welcome to real estate, y'all" was her apology. Knee high black boots in 80 degree weather. She wore more make-up than Boy George and Kiss together. Dark blue eyeshadow. Not a little. A lot. A whole lot. Black eyeliner. Not a little. A lot. Dark red, almost black, lipstick. Her blush was more of a dark shading. Black, wispy hair. Then she opened her mouth. I could barely tolerate her voice -- Paula Deen accent meets fingernails on a chalkboard-- and she couldn't stay on a single subject if she tried. It was like her brain was on ice, slipping with every step, never knowing where she would land. She was all over the place, but no where for any length of time. By noon, I wanted to get up on the podium with her... (me) okay, see this chapter?? This is called an "o u t l i n e". You are supposed to follow it. (her) Oh, okay, and when I was divorced from my ex-husband, I call him my tumor... (me) God, I swear I want to smack her!... How many times did we hear about Tumor? Probably a hundred, maybe more. When we got home that evening, I just went to bed.

Sick

I haven't run/walked one day this week. I am sick with a chest cold and feel awful. I am still trying to eat right, but I feel sluggish because I haven't really moved around much.

It doesn't help that it's been raining all week either. Yuk!

My husband, Tom, and I are both starting real estate school this weekend. I am sort of excited about that. We will complete the course in three weekends -- 8:30 to 6:00 Saturday and Sunday -- then we can take the exam. Tom wants to transition from construction. I want to transition from mind numbness after retirement.