Feeling like a beginner all over again.

I want to start discussing exercise again since that is supposed to be the focus of my blog. I've been getting back into it. I feel like a beginner all over again. I'm taking it slow. I want to be consistent. I don't want to injure myself. I want to build, and I know this will happen with small steps. This has been easy to accomplish.
I've been doing a lot of walking. Sort of by accident. I'll leave my bike in lab and end up walking back and forth from home to lab, which totals 2 miles round trip by the end of the day. Yesterday, I had to walk from lab, to my house, to a friend's house, back to lab, because he needed a digital camera (stat!), and I could help him out. By the time it was all said and done, I had walked a total of about 3 miles. Awesome.
Last night, after I got home, I was tired and sore. I had run 4 miles the day before and done all that walking. I had a big dinner and a large sundae and was lying like a bloated pig on the couch, watching the season finale of The Bachelor (which was unbelievably boring, by the way). It bored me so much, in fact, that it drove me to the basement to work out.
I'm glad I did. I feel good today. I kept the session short--45 minutes. I decided if I wasn't sore today, I could increase it next time. Guess what? I'm sore today. I love that feeling of being sore the next day. It means it's working. I kept the weights light and watched my form. I also did fewer crunches and thought about doing each one carefully and slowly. I think I felt the burn more than when I eek out more sets. This also saves time.
So, moral of the story? #1) Do something. Something is better than nothing. #2) Take it slow. You can always do more next time. It's better than injuring yourself. #3) Be consistent. #4) Work on form. It's quality, not quantity that's going to give you Janet Jackson abs.

Finally, it feels so good just to have fun and work out to work out. Last season, I was so focused on the competition. Everything I did was about the next race. I'm sure I will get back into racing again, but I'm just enjoying exercising right now. I'd like to build up a strong base and be able to do races without having to train specifically for them. Then, they'd be fun and motivational. I wouldn't be so focused on them. I'm having a lot of fun with this new attitude. So moral #5) Have fun. Don't take yourself too seriously.