Day 343 - Exercise, Crash. Exercise, Crash etc, etc, etc

Couch days are getting to be a bore. I have been working on increasing my exercise and I am pretty sure I overdid it yesterday and I paid for it today. I walked over to the pool which is just a couple of blocks away, but the heat was intense. I was in the pool for less than an hour and played around in the water with the kids. I didn't think if it as exercise and that may have been a mistake. As I mentioned a few days ago, I want to increase the number of steps I walk each day and I have been taking a walk each evening, well after the sun goes down. It hasn't been warm at night - it's been hot, so the walks had that additional element for my body to adjust to. I can't be sure it was my additional activity, but my guess is that yesterday, I did more than I should have and today I just crashed.

I'm not certain that I will ever know for sure what causes a crash day. I have only been working toward my increased steps for less than a week, but even with the added exercise I haven't had more couch days, but they seem to be a little worse. I need exercise, but it is so hard to get into any kind of a routine because my days are so unpredictable. Today I head-achey, and I had that sick feeling that made me just want to close my eyes and shut out the world. I got up around my regular time, but then I was only awake for an hour or so before I went back to sleep and then slept for more than three hours. I need to find a way to build up my body without fatigue taking over every time I make an effort.

I am coming close to the end of my three month leave of absence and I am not better than when I started. This has been a rough summer and I am feeling desperate to have this turn around. I want more than this fibro life is offering me right this minute. But, I know that whatever this life has to offer, it is up to me to make the most of it. I am concerned about my overall health. Exercise is always mentioned as essential to heart health, disease prevention, stress reduction and improved overall health, as well as longevity. I want those benefits but I how to get them if I can't even take a fifteen minute walk around the block without crashing? I refuse to give up and I am going to persevere with this. I am going to keep walking and keep making an effort to make exercise a part of my daily routine, I might as well if I am going to crash anyway.