Okay a few things on a disparate yet enjoyable Tuesday.

First! Happy Birthday to Mr. Barack Obama. Don’t worry dude, McCain can’t beat your skinny bean pole ass, I promise. You got it. Oh, and you’re a Leo, I’m a Leo, how about inviting me to the Democratic Convention? Thanks!

Second: we’re working on these wedding invitations (oh they are heartbreakingly perfect too) and I am amazed at the stamp pressure. I honestly felt a little twinge of stress buying stamps because EVERYONE has to make sure I get the LOVE stamps.

Oh how I wish they had “we love to do 69” stamps.

Third: I’m going to do a quick ISHT because I did something brilliant last night. I was reading a friends’ blog (you know who you are) and she was lamenting a stronger physical self of a few months ago. She had tried to go running after a few months break in the hot hot hot and could not go as far or as fast as she could before. Now, I certainly understand that frustration, but I also really sympathized and wanted to explain to her that it’s not about how fast and how far.

So, I took this into my own head. You know, I seem to have real trouble running in the heat, I don’t really enjoy it at all and I go much much slower and each mile is a struggle. Now set me out there in October and I cruise…so, I’m affected by the heat. And I decided last night to not mess with it anymore, I really didn’t feel like running, had some small muscle sprain and with my blog friend in mind, went on the most exhilarating walk/run ever.

Oh man, I’d run for maybe a song, then walk, run, walk, totally as I see fit. I made sure to keep my heart working (which is why we’re all doing this right?) but I took it easy. When I felt like I wanted to stop running, I walked, when I felt like I wanted to stop walking, I did lunges…it was fantastic. There was no thought to how far, how fast or how many calories I was burning, I turned down streets I’ve never been on, enjoying the fact that I couldn’t count the miles in my head.

I was sweating like a mofo and the rain started coming down and I ran a nice 10-15 minutes in the rain, all warmed up, a nice enjoyable finish to my workout.

Turns out, I ran/walked farther than I normally do, burned more calories than I normally do, and wasn’t pink faced and totally out of commission. Yes, it took longer, but that just means I was exercising my heart and body for even longer, how is that a bad thing? I was happy, energized and proud of myself by the time I got home.

I guess what I’m saying is, don’t pressure yourselves ladies, a nice brisk walk IS exercise, lunges will build up your muscle, a short run will get your heart rate up so you can take the rest of your outing the way you want to. And for me, it made it WAY more enjoyable, meaning it’s much more likely I’ll do it tonight, rather than burning myself out so I don’t ever want to do it again.
YAY!