In need of consistency!

 So, last week I set out to take a 4 mile walk around my neighborhood. I have really weak ankles and I had these new braces I wanted to try out. *actually they weren't that new, I got them weeks ago but I've been lazy and really bad about putting off my walking training, but whatever...*

I decided that morning I was going to walk and when it came time to go, I just went. I didn't even think about doing any of my stretches or anything. It was like I just had to start moving, so I did. 

And it felt great! I walked the entire 4 miles with hardly any pain at all! It was incredible. The weather was slightly rainy and cold, but I was bundled up in a sweatshirt so I felt really good. 

The entire walk took me 1 hour and 50 minutes, which I thought was pretty good. I mean, some people can walk a mile in 15 minutes and keep up a great pace, but again, I've been really lazy lately so I'm just not that person. Also, I had my dog with me and he likes to sniff and pee on everything! 

On Sunday, my following day off, I decided to give 4 miles another shot. I got bundled up and did a few stretches, put on my braces and hit the road.

My ankle felt as if I was being stabbed before I left the parking lot of my apartment building! 

It was awful! And frustrating! And painful! And made me hysterical with anger!

Where the hell is some consistency???

I mean, maybe I'm the crazy one, but I just think that if something helps you one day, it should always help you!!!

Okay, okay, fine, maybe not "always", but at least three days later! 

If I'm able to wear a brace and feel great one day, then three days later it should still feel great! Is that really too much to ask for?

Even though I was pretty mad at my ankle when all of this was going on, the thing I kept repeating to myself was "This is what you asked for. You wanted it to hurt. You wanted this to be hard. You wanted to see what you were made of, and this pain is a part of all of that."  And the good thing is that after the first 2 miles, my ankle had pretty much warmed up and the pain eased.

The other problem I was having on Sunday vs. Thursday is that, by Sunday it was actually a lot warmer outside then it had been on Thursday. With me walking around in all my layers, I was sweating pretty quickly. And I didn't have any water or a sports drink with me, so I was becoming slightly dehydrated. 

In all, the 4 mile walk took me 2 hours and 9 minutes on Sunday. Which was almost 20 minutes more then it had on Thursday. But the time really isn't important to me. I still walked 4 miles! And I reached 15,128 steps on my pedometer!

And because my walk took so much longer, by the time I got back to my apartment I was running late to go to my parents house for Sunday dinner. I had to jump in the shower, rinse off, throw on some clothes, and get out the door. After my long walk I wasn't able to just pass out. I had to keep moving. And I did. So, that's pretty cool too!

Tomorrow I am going to shoot for 5 miles! I can only really take these long walks on my days off, so I'm hoping to do 5 miles on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'll keep you posted!