Progress?

I guess if my aching shin/ankle combination and my bruised toenail that is about to turn a nice purplish black is any indication, I am doing a good job of keeping up with my running/workout routine. When I was playing volleyball in high school, my feet would always get really sore and have problems the first few weeks of practice because of all the short sprints and jumping and so on. It was quite painful. I had several toe nails that would fall off and I'd get blood blisters underneath others. One year I had a horrible blister on the side of my right pinky toe that got so bad I started to get a red line running up my foot which was an indication I was on the verge of getting some nice infectious blood poisoning. I had to have my mom cut that sucker open and get all the toxic goo out. (Doesn't that get your appetite going?) That could be one of the most painful memories I have. Youch!

The strange thing is that pretty much all of my foot problems occur on my right foot. My right ankle is the only one I've ever sprained as well. Why all the right sided problems? I've tried different shoes, different sizes, better socks, yada - yada - yada. Nothing really seems to help. I guess having sensitive feet is just one of my hurdles to jump in this life. This is just something I have to get over whenever I start doing something new.

I've had 8 years of going up and down in the weight department. I've gained as much as 70 pounds with one pregnancy; Kendle my big old 10 pound baby.  After Kendle was born it took me a good 2 years of blood sweat and tears to lose that 70 pounds. I've figured with all of my kids combined I've had to lose close to 185 pounds over the years. That is a whole person. It gets harder and harder when you can't lose all the weight you need to in between each baby and the next thing you know that "baby weight" just wants to stick like glue and never leave. But I have gotten to the point where I am just sick of not feeling as healthy as I've wanted to and haven't had the energy level I need. I knew I needed to step it up and that I can reach the goals I've set for myself. I'm trying not to be so worried about what the scale says and more concerned with getting back in good shape and feeling really strong again. I want to be a positive role model for my family.

So even though the thought of putting shoes on with my sore toe and running right now gives me the shivers, that's exactly what I'm going to go do. And that is how I know I'm making progress. The term "no pain, no gain" is definitely going to be applicable the next little while.