1 week later, thus far.

I have been working on me so far the last week. I have maintained my trail hiking/walking/jogging the little 2.7 miles. I have been lazy for years, so I am not running a marathon next week. That being said, I am walking a the first 3/4 mile, then jogging 1/4 mile, walking to the trail end, and back to the same 1/4 mile jogging section, then walking the rest. The reason for this is this is a wooded area, and a little more private. I am working on building stamina.

Another subject I am working on is, on certain points on the trail, doing lunges. I am working on building knee strength and stability. Knees are a poor point in my family as my dad has had knee surgery and I have a couple uncles who have had to get knee replacements. I know this is a weak point, and I need to protect that.

When it comes to diet, I have been doing pretty good. That being said, my work schedule is on a rotating days off and I just passed my 2 weekends off. I ate a little less healthily, but never the less, still pretty decent. We introduced Spaghetti squash into the mix, and everyone likes it, including the kids! That is a personal win. We tried stuffed acorn squash last night, and while not bad, we will not be getting that again. Today I am making butternut squash soup, and we will see how we like that. These are things that we are eating while home as a family. On work days, I am still maintaining my oatmeal for breakfast and chicken/veggie for lunch/dinner.

I am not focused on what a scale says, but my overall well being. I feel great after doing my trail work in the mornings, and will be adding weight training into the mix starting Tuesday. I can tell you that I am sleeping far better at nights now. I am ready for bed shortly after I get home, and I sleep soundly. On the weekends, we, as a family, go on the trail, which is nice and get away from electronics.

I do find a rather solemn peace while exercising. Something about being disconnected from everything and anything and just being me. The stretching and the lunges bring an awareness to how, well, how weak I have become while the running invigorates me. When I was a marine, I would run 10 miles in the morning. I have long since been removed from that lifestyle, but still recall parts that I pull into my morning routine. On weekdays I run before I eat breakfast. I enjoy it.

Perhaps moving forward I will put more thorough thought into what I am doing and writing and make it more exciting, but for now it lends itself to personal growth. I have also pulled myself away from some other vices, and have been allowing myself to live in the moment. As a prepper, that can be very hard, but I never really lived in that part of life where you just worry. I just prepared so I didn’t have to worry. I now need to rebuild myself from the ground up, and so far, I have been satisfied with my personal progress for this week. I know it is a long and bumpy road, and mistakes have and will be made, but never let yourself down. Move forward and complete the tasks. Stay safe and stay prepared.