Shit ... it's raining out. I was actually thinking about going running by the river today instead of at the gym (because A suggested it), but now that's down the tube. I don't feel comfortable enough yet that running by the river in the rain would seem ok to me. That comes later. But what this means is that I'm going to go get in my wet car and drive to the gym.

What? You say I haven't told you about my wet car yet? It's such a hassle. The first window that went was the driver's side. At some point J was rolling it down and he kept on rolling and the window just stopped moving. It's stuck about an inch down from being all the way up. Not so bad, but when it rains the insidious little drops make their way in and soak the driver's seat. Aargh. And then went the passenger's side window. And yes, it was J again. Hmmm ... very mysterious. This time he was rolling it up and it didn't go anywhere. And really, I mean NOWHERE. It's stuck permanently in the down position, so you can imagine what that does in the rain. And all of this means that I end up with one hell of a wet car. Ah, the joys.

Anyway. I started week 2 of the run/walk yesterday and it was hard. I'm running pretty slowly (I can walk that fast, which is a serious bummer) but I'm still having a hard time with breath. It's hard getting a rhythm down when I'm constantly changing pace. But I've been paying attention to my stride a whole bunch and trying to correct things that I think I'm doing wrong.

I've really been getting into this. It's a lot of fun to go to the gym and spend half an hour on the treadmill, then do weights, stretch, and (my totally awesome newest addition to my fitness routine) do my cruches. I really would like to have a seriously buff stomach at some point, so I figure adding crunches in to me routine can only help. I've been doing 130 of them: 20 with legs straight up in the air, 20 with legs straight up in the air but like I'm pulling a rope up towards them, 20 oblique crunches on each side, and then a 30 count of bicycles. I feel like this really could have good results, especially if I'm doing them every single day that I go to the gym (5 days/week).

And in other news, had an interesting conversation with J last night after he came home from his class.

J: I feel like shit.
Me: What kind of shit? (This is my response because, for me, "I feel like shit" means that I'm nauseous. It can mean all sorts of things from other people, so I always have to ask.)
J: My lungs hurt, my heart is pounding, and I feel like shit.
Me: Uhbuh...
J: I think it's time to quit smoking.
Me: Great. When do you want to do it?
J: Now.

So, as far as I know, he didn't smoke at all last night after we had that conversation. I'm hoping that he's really ready for it this time, that it's not like all the other times he's told me he was going to do it. I know that the only way you can really do it is to be determined that you're really going to do it. I'm working on not getting too excited. Everytime he tells me he's going to do something like this I get totally excited and then, when he changes his mind, I'm heartbroken. It happens all the time and I have to stop it. I guess the important thing for me to realize is that it doesn't really have anything to do with me, that if he wants to do this he'll do it, and that in the meantime all I can do is be supportive.

But, nonetheless, please keep your fingers crossed. It actually does mean a lot to me.