Taking it slow
 

Hey, ladies.

I think Snowball's right to take her own pace, too. I have this terrible confession...I got on the treadmill and warmed up at 2.8 mph for 10 minutes, stretched, and went to 3.5 mph for 10 minutes. All of a sudden, things started hurting! No surprise, since I've topped out (Hopefully) at 215 lbs, but still a shock. I read in "Fitness for Dummies" that if pain occurs (besides "feeling the burn"), you should slow it down or stop, so I slowed it down, but at 15 minutes I knew I had had it, so I cooled down. This is the thing, though. When I've started (and subsequently quit) exercise programs before, I've tried to walk the pain off for my 45 minutes, instead of just acknowledging that the old lady needs to work into it slowly. I've gotten countless shin splints from this approach. I'm hoping that by treating my body gently and moving slowly into the "huff and puff", that this last effort towards health and fitness will last longer and thereby succeed. Any thoughts?