So before I get into what I want to talk about, I just want to say that my intention is never to sound like a know it all. I am not. I also don't want to sound like a braggart. I am not a super athlete. I'm actually not athletic at all. I'm just a wanna be. Don't ever ask me to play a sport. I will duck when balls fly in my direction. I barely passed P.E. in high school. I enjoy fitness simply because it makes me feel good. It gives me energy, and makes me feel strong and I hope it keeps me young. I want to share what I love in hopes that others will try and love it also.
 I am going to write about Tabata. I don't know how many people have heard of it. It is something I never heard of until November when I started doing classes at the gym. So, in Tabata you do 8 intervals of 20 second high intensity exercise, followed by 10 seconds of rest. Say you do jump squats for 20 seconds, get a 10 second rest, and repeat 8 times, then go on to the next exercise. The teachers at the gym I go to alternate between cardio, and strength training. You would think 20 seconds isn't too difficult, but by the 3rd or 4th round it gets very challenging. At the same time it is manageable to push yourself through 20 seconds. The first time I did it I was sore all over for 5 days. I walked like I had ridden a horse, and had to hold the railing coming up and down the stairs, and I was coming into this in okay shape as well. I loved the sore muscle pain. It isn't so bad now, but I frequently have sore body parts for several days after. Recently I had a teacher who talked about some movie called "The 300". I've never seen it, but she taught us some 7minute 300 routine. We did a warm up then did 25 squats, 15 push ups, 25 sit ups, 25 split lunges and 15 burpees. We had 20 seconds to complete each set, then went onto the next whether we had completed it or not. There was no 10 second brake until we finished all of it, then we continued on doing the routine for 7 minutes. At the end we should have completed 300, give or take a few. 7 minutes! That is it for such a high intensity workout. We actually did it for an hour, with several cardio breaks in between, so it was more like 900. So much fun though, and you feel so great and wobbly after. My legs shake a bit sometimes. Here is a link to the finer details of what Tabata is: http://www.tabataprotocol.com
I highly recommend it if you want to get in good shape fast, and you like to have fun and feel great.

   Tonight I actually ran the 2.5km downhill to the gym, barely got into the class on time. It fills up really fast, so unfortunately I got stuck in the front. Then I ran the 2.5km uphill and home. I need to fit running in where I can since I am in training for a couple of half marathons coming up. One is in May and one the end of June. I don't want to give up the class for running time, so I have to squeeze it in where I can. I get a short, fast run there, and a much more tired, hill run home. So grateful for the extra hour of sunshine in the evening.
 Again, if you are one of the few people who reads my blog, please don't think I am bragging. I am nothing special. My intent is to show that if a regular person like myself, who has spent most of her life an out of shape schlub can do this then anyone can. Get excited about fitness!
 I would like to know if anyone has tried this workout before and what they think of it, and I would also like to encourage everyone to try it at least once. It only takes 7 or 8 minutes and you can work up from there.

One of my favorite pictures from several years ago.

I miss that sweet little baby girl. She is still sweet
but I miss the baby.