Primal Stride Challenge Update 1.4

Wow, am I having computer issues tonight! I haven't been able to upload pics and I wrote a big ol' blog post and it didn't save.  I got some weird internal error from blogspot. I've got a bunch of stuff to accomplish tonight, so. . a quick update:

I made it up at 5am this morning and did 4 miles with my Leslie Sansone walk at home audio.  I altered the workout though. . whenever I was supposed to be walking, I jogged in place.  It really got my heartrate up and then I also added some of the moves from my kickboxing video.  Instead of the little kicks she tells people to do, I did some kicks and punch combinations from kickboxing.  So, overal. . a pretty good workout.

I was excited my blood glucose was 111 fasting.  But, disappointed that, again, it went up from working out.  I finished at 156. . that sucks.  I also noticed that today, instead of hovering in the 200's, I got down to 151 after lunch.  That was a nice little surprise.

It's getting easier to get up early.  I'm actually quite surprised and think I'll try to keep this new schedule.  I get to work so much less frazzled, more alert and, I'm sure, in a much better mood as I've already been up several hours, rather than just trying to get my day started.

Talk to you all tomorrow.  Have a restful sleep and we'll catch you bright and early at 5am!

Primal Stride Challenge Updates 1.1 and 1.2

January 2, 2010
I DID wake up at 5am this morning, unfortunately, my BG is still too high to work out.  I was still at 267 at 5:30am, have been drinking ALOT of water to help wash the glucose out of my system. As I re-read the website, I think I'm ok not actually working out at 5am, I'll have to defer to "Lone Wolf" on this one.  The Primal Stride Exercise challenge is:
Exercise: 5 kilometers each and every day – You may walk, jog, run, sprint… whatever gets you to the goal.
The Primal Stride Health challenge is: 
Health: Get out of bed at 5am each morning – It’s your chance to start the year off as an early riser! Try it for a week!
So technically I did meet the health challenge today, I can still work at getting my BG down and doing my 5K when I do, but again, I'll check with the official website to see if that qualifies, otherwise I'll get recategorized as a modified participant.  I'll update this as I get the 5K under my belt for today.  I am excited to track the miles I cover this year.  I wish I had done it in 2009!  Good luck to all the other participants!  I feel like that old Army commercial. . some people do more before 6am than most do in an entire day!  Hooah!
Update:  I did get 40 minutes of cardio in tonight, which is how long it would take me to walk 3.1 mi on a treadmill. So, mission accomplished!

January 1, 2010
Unfortunately, I had to use my free pass on the very first day of the challenge.  I had the worst time going to sleep, was up up until 2am, took a hot bath and slept in the tub until 3am.  Once I got to bed, it was at least 4am before I fell asleep.  Being a person with diabetes, good sleep patterns are as important as eating the right foods and testing my blood glucose (BG).  So, with my sleep being off, so was my BG. I was too high all day to work out.  I did get below the dreaded 250 one time, at 9pm at my Mom's house, but I was still feeling pretty fuzzy and had stomach cramps from being high all day and decided it wasn't a good idea to try to exercise. So, I claim my free pass for January 1st and will try again January 2nd.  (BTW, I probably should've registered as a "modified" participant for this reason.  I'll make a note on the official challenge website.

Primal Stride Challenge, Join me to help build a healthy, stronger you in 2010.

The Primal Stride Challenge is an opportunity to join with others in meeting weekly goals of health and fitness.  The first challenge begins January 1st at 5am and is being called the 5 at 5 challenge.  For the first 7 days, simply complete a 5k each day beginning at 5am.  That's 3.1 miles.  If you walk, at a brisk rate, you can complete this in 45 minutes.  It doesn't matter how quickly you accomplish this, how gracefully you finish. .just finish.  The next week will be a new challenge, like, doing 250 crunches each day, or eating a new green vegetable each day.  For more information, follow the link and watch the video on the home site.  I'm really excited to take this next year to get healthy and really shake things up!

What I LOVE about this idea:

• How many of us make New Year's resolutions that die off after 2-3 weeks?  We make it to the gym 4 days the first week, 3 days the next and before you know it, we're sitting on the couch again.  This is one week at a time and I don't know about you, but I can handle one week at a time.    
• You get one "free pass" day per weekly challenge, so if something does come up or you're not feeling well one day, you're off the hook.  Just pick up with the next week's challenge and continue.
• It's a community of people with a common goal of seeing each other succeed, pushing each other to achieve more and pulling you along when you can't get out of bed.
• It's a chance to see what I can accomplish.  There may be challenge weeks that seem easy, there may be some that push me to the limit of what I can accomplish. . in between, I will have grown, stretched myself and become that much more healthy.
• People will be blogging their experiences.  It'll be interesting to see how others progress as we compare notes, rantings and pictures.  

What I don't like about this:

• The very first challenge starts at 5am!  Anyone who knows me, knows that this will be my biggest challenge right off the bat.  If I can wake up at 5am for 7 days in a row. . I will have accomplished my biggest feat EVER and the rest of the year will be easy, breezy, beautiful!  ha ha

Ok, I hope I've convinced you to join me.  It'll be fun to do something together, you and I.  It'll give us another dimension of our relationship. Please go to the Primal Stride Challenge website and leave a comment on his blog.  Then, please let me know so I can check-in on you, compare notes, and we can help each other succeed.  HAPPY 2010 to you and the new you you're about to become!