Does Walking Around Target Count???

I'm going to say that yes, walking around Target for about an hour, most definitely constitutes as exercise. :-) 

I was told not to stay home and do nothing today because it'd make it even worse tomorrow... and I needed to head to Target anyway, so I went. And I walked around the entire store for almost an hour (mostly on purpose).

There's only so much that an almost-two-year-old can handle... and it WAS lunch time, so I had to play my cards right. I also ran into a friend from AAM (Atlanta Area Mommies) and spent a few catching up with her... but other than that, we were moving the whole time.

I was able to get home and put Gus down for a nap and I was able to chat with my cousin Jessica about running and the Couch 2 5K program. I found out that my (TMI-- AGAIN SO SORRY) feelings of instantaneously needing to poop are normal. Apparently, my body will adjust to all the moving around that I'm doing when I'm jogging (and friends... there's a WHOLE lot moving around). I thought it was just me and my nerves... but it's normal (I guess) to feel the sudden need to go. Not sure what can be done about that... since I do my moving at the greenway and there's NO PLACE TO GO but the woods. HAHAHA.

I also came to the conclusion that I do not ever have to RUN an entire 5k. I am totally fine with my jog/walk combo routine. I hope to be able to jog longer as I get stronger and more endurance, but I don't HAVE to jog an entire 5k without stopping. In fact, I'm following another site (Run Injury Free with Jeff Galloway) and feel like his method is perfect for me. You run 30 second and walk 1.5 (which is what I did Monday)... it gradually increases. This is where the C25K differs-- in that program, you eventually just run (without walking) for the entire time. 

I was talking to my dad yesterday (he called to see how my first day went of training) and he suggested that I get a heart monitor watch. I found a Polar (I did some research on heart monitors) for a pretty good price and it even tells you how many calories you've burned. I thought I had ordered a Timex, but I was wrong... It was a Polar (there are so many brands of heart monitor watches... I got lost in all of them). It should be here next week and I'm looking forward to using the chest strap to see my heart rate. My dad said it would be a really good idea to know if I was in the right zone for optimal exercise. I don't want to over do it, but I don't want to under do it either.

So we'll see. I am meeting Pilar in the morning to walk again... round two. What's really odd to me is that my legs don't hurt like I thought they would... but my abdominals seriously hurt. I feel like someone has been beating on me. My arms hurt too... I'm guessing from pushing the stroller. Even my back muscles are a little sore, but my legs are totally fine. WEIRD.

See you tomorrow for an update on training day two. I pray that I can stay focused and just take it one step at a time.