Run, Run, As Fast As You Can…

Week Two, Day Five!

Well, today was progress, and not. Lemme ‘splain…. The Man has a trick knee; he hurt it on the job many a moon ago and since then, it acts up accordingly. Today it was hurting in a particularly bad way, so I suggested that he walk it instead of run. After much hemming and hawing, he agreed with me. I mean, better to let it mend than to totally screw it up and not be able to run, period, know what I mean?

I decided that since there was nothing wrong with me except perpetual sedentarism, I would continue the run. He handed over the watch so I could keep time, thus making me the Time Keeper (can we saw Ultimate Cosmic Power? haha). I hooked myself back up to my iPod and off I went.

So I ran. And ran. And ran. Thing is, I was so into my music, I forgot to look at the watch. Because I’m not used to being Time Keeper, used to looking to The Man for my cues to start and stop, I kinda just kept running. I was getting winded. I was hurting. By the time I remembered that I was Time Keeper, I had forgotten what time it was that I started, so I made the command decision to run at least ‘til the end of the song playing on my iPod because I knew I had started when it started, and I knew it would be at least two minutes, and then some.

In total, about four minutes.

And now my ass is KILLING ME! But I don’t regret it. How can I? I did it! AND I did it up an incline, too. No wonder the buttocks are sore.

Anyway, now for the not-progress part. I think because I strained myself running that four minute part, I did something weird to my ankle. I ran another two minutes, but then my ankle hurt pretty bad and we walked the rest. I feel better now, about 45 minutes after the running, except for my aching behind, though, so I should be good to go for tomorrow.

Tomorrow marks day six of week two. We’re still doing run two, walk four, and I don’t know if I’m ready yet for run three, walk three. I’m not going to stress out about it, though. The fact that I’m out there doing it at all is a lot, way more than I was doing before, and everyday I do it is another day towards meeting my goal. I don’t care how long it takes, I am determined to see this thing through, so if I have to take yet another week of run two, walk four, so be it.

The Man is going to walk tomorrow instead of run, to let his knee heal a bit. It’s taken a pounding, and not surprising that it acts up.

The thing is, our bodies are still in the build up phase of things. Building up tolerance, building up stamina, building up muscle, all of that. It’s gonna take some time! We didn’t do this to ourselves in a short time, it’s going take awhile to fix it.

But at least we’re out there DOING IT, right? Right.

Peace.

And She Ran… She Ran So Far Away…

Ok, not really. But run she did! (and by she, I mean… me)

Ok, so. We get to The Lake, stretch, and take off. First set, good. Second set, good. We’ve started running two, walking three instead of four. Third set… eh. I was getting really tired. My legs were having issues with moving. By the fourth set, I only ran one minute, and walked the rest. And the final set, the fifth one, I was doggedly running up this incline, get to the top, reeeeally straining but still going… and my shoe comes untied. I paused to tie it, then resumed running.

Maybe because I had flagged out on my fourth set, maybe because I was feeling like a big weeny, maybe because I could, I kept running after the two minutes were up. The Man, who did not cut any of his sets short, was done and walked a bit to cool down. Me, I kept on for a minute more, turned around and ran back.

This is getting to be much more difficult. I thought the first week was hard, but this week is harder. I don’t know why, it just is. I think it’s that mentality of “this hurts, this is hard, I can’t, I can quit, it’ll be alright if I quit, this is really hard…. blah blah blah blah”. All the usual bullshit I tell myself when I want to cease and desist doing something. The thing that frustrates me is that when I’m NOT running, I look forward to running. I pump myself UP. I really think that I can DO IT.

Aaaand then I hit the trail, and after that second set, it suddenly seems impossible. I try and tell myself, stop being a weeny and THINK POSITIVE! but my thighs feel like they weigh twenty pounds more than normal and it’s hard to breathe and it’s hard to keep doing it. And all of my doubts and weenieness comes to the fore. I want to quit. I want to stop and just walk. I start to tell myself, it’s ok if you become a walker. I start to think, this is too hard for you. I even told The Man today that maybe I wasn’t cut out to be a runner.

And that just pisses me off! Why can’t I be a runner? Ok, so I’m not going to break any records, big deal! And I might not ever run more than a few miles. So what! What matters is that I’m OUT THERE, DOING IT. The beginning is the hardest part. I have to keep that in mind!

I talk a good game. I just wish that when I’m out there, running, I could keep up that litany of positive thinking. I wish I were tougher mentally.

However, I’m still determined to finish what I started. Even if takes me a year. Everyday, run (except Fridays). Everyday til I can run the thirty minutes without stopping.

So be it.

Peace.

Still Runnin’…

Where does the time go? I’ve been meaning to journal the past two days, put it off to do other stuff, and before I know it, the day is over. So here I am, late. At least it’s better than never, eh?

So where was I? Oh yeah, week two, days two and three. Is it bad that the days are starting to blur a little?

Day two was difficult for me physically. I ran the whole thing, but I really struggled. However, I’m feeling better and getting my breath back faster, so I know it’s getting easier to do. And when the two minutes running part is up, I feel like I could go a little longer, so I guess that’s progress, too.

Yesterday we went in the evening, and again, it was really hard for me. The Man just seems to DO IT. I seem to fight and struggle for every damn step. Yesterday is the closest I have come to giving up so far. I really feel like I’ve hit this mental wall of resistance; it’s getting really hard for me to keep up the internal pep talking.

I’ve been feeling this coming on for the past few days, so it wasn’t a surprise. I have talked to The Man and Shanna about it, and they’re encouraging, and I need that. But still, they can’t run it for me, and they can’t give me the motivation to want it; that has to come from me. And that’s the hard part. My body is so out of shape that running is really hard. I want to do it; I hate doing it. Make sense?

After the run, I had to seriously put things into perspective. The thing is, I stayed out really late Sunday nite, and only got about 3 and a half hours of sleep. Then I had a busy day Monday, which would have worn me out in normal circumstances, but that coupled with the late nite made me more tired than usual. Throw running on top of it, and me being really out of shape, and no wonder I was just not doing all that great.

I am still just as determined as when I first set out to do this; maybe even more so. I will not let running defeat me! I won’t let my own messed up head and thought process take this from me. I made a vow to finish, and finish I mean to do. And THEN if I still hate it, THEN I’ll quit and find something else to do. At least then I’ll be able to make an informed decision, and not quit because I’m being a wuss and big boob.

At least I can run. My issues are more of a mental thing than a physical thing; I’m out of shape, not handicapped. I can imagine that there are countless people out there who would love to get up and run, to have that as an option. How can I just sit here, day in and day out, abuse my body with bad food and neglect and not do anything to change it? I have a choice. I have options. I’m this way because I’ve chosen to be this way, by my inaction. I would rather pay the price of struggling at the beginning of this running thing, and everything that comes with it, to get into shape, than pay the longer term price of health issues later in the future.

So that’s where I’m at right now. I hope that this evening’s running goes better. I feel more rested, I feel good. I hope I kick it in the ass today! I’ll keep you posted :)

Peace.

Week Two, Day One; A Day At The Beach

We took yesterday off, as planned. The Man felt great today, though, so off we went to do our run.

Instead of going to The Lake, The Man suggested that we drive down to the beach instead. Now, in case you didn’t know, I love… and I mean LOVE… the beach. So of course I was all over that!

We stopped at the gas station to get a bottle of water, but other than that, it was a pretty straight shot. We also took our eldest kid with us, Son One, who is twenty. Son One is in FABULOUS shape, and goes running with regularity, so he pretty much took off on his own once we got down there. I’m not even going to pretend that we could keep up with him!

We stretched, and off we went.

Now, running on the beach is awesome. A few years ago, I decided to try running, and for a week or so, did that. However, because I despised running back then as well, and because I didn’t have anyone with me, I (obviously) wound up quitting. The thing is, though, I loved doing it on the beach. It’s hands down one of my absolute favorite places EVER, so this morning I was quite happy to run there.

Still not a fan of the running, but loved where we were at.

As to the actual running part of it, I am seeing improvement. I’m recovering faster during our walk portion, and I have more energy at the end. Even though we ran the whole thing, I had it in me to do a little more right there at the end. I still don’t like it all that much, but it’s becoming easier to do. I think I’m going to really dig it once I get over this whole “this hurts, it sucks!” phase.

Time will tell!

In other news, my stomach is shrinking. Already. Weird!

The Man is doing excellent. He has embraced this whole running business whole heartedly, and seriously, if it weren’t for him, I probably would have given up already.

And this is, as they say, that!

Peace.

Day Six (and onward ‘round the bend)

Progress!

Finally, progress. Today I managed to run the whole thing without stopping, other than when I was supposed to. But it gets better--

We started out as usual, and within the first minute I was HATING life. My side hurt, I was thinking how bad it sucked, my head was sooo not in it… yada yada. But I didn’t stop, kept on. First two minutes were up, we start the walking portion. I get my breath back and then some, and then we start running again. The second set wasn’t so bad. I still hated it, I wanted to stop, but I kept going. The second two minutes ended, and we started walking again. By this time we had looped The Lake once. We ARE running faster.

Then we start on the third set. I picked up the pace a teeny bit, and didn’t hate it for once, just disliked it. Yes, that is progress for me mentally, but not the Progress! I was referring to…

The fourth set we start out, and there’s this incline that I normally walk up midway. Well. Today, instead of walking up it, not only did I run it, I RAN up it. As in, shifted gears, dug in deeper, and RAN. Legs pumping and everything. It hurt. It was hard. I wasn’t loving it. But godsdammit, I DID IT.

That little thing was huge for me.

We start on the fifth and final set, and The Man takes off. He likes to push himself a bit the first minute to gage where he’s at, but he slows down and waits for me. And then a strange thing happened… I shifted gears again, picked up the pace again, and fairly booked it to catch up with him. I mean, for me, that was major. I ran as hard as I felt that I could without really thinking about it. I felt it so deep in my lungs, my legs were so tired, my whole body was fighting it, but I was doing it!

So yeah, today was a big day for me, a day where I finally saw some improvement. I am so relieved. This week had been so hard for me, mentally and physically, and if it weren’t for The Man, I probably would have given up by now.

I’m so glad to see some self-improvement. I still really dislike running, because it’s hard and it hurts, but I lalalaLOVE that we’re doing it. I know that it’ll get easier. I mean, I’ve been sedentary for a long, long time; this isn’t going to be an easy process, or an enjoyable one (yet). But that’s the goal, the whole point. To get to a place where I like it, where it’s easier, where it doesn’t hurt like this.

We’re taking tomorrow off, because it’ll be seven days in a row for The Man and he needs a break. I’ll probably go and at least walk around The Lake a few times, though. And Saturday, we’re going to start Week Two. However, instead of moving on with run three, walk three, we’re going to repeat run two, walk four. I really feel like I need to do that again before I can advance. At first I was thinking, don’t be a wuss, just do it! However, I don’t think my bod is ready yet. I have to keep reminding myself that this isn’t a sprint, but a marathon, and it isn’t about how fast I do it, but that I finish it. It’s been years since I actively exercised, and it’s not something recoverable in just a few days. Patience is key. I don’t want to push too hard and quit because I get discouraged, so we’re going to repeat this cycle and THEN advance.

And that is today. Not bad, I say, not bad at all!

Peace.

Another One Done!

I picked The Man up from work and off we headed for The Lake. Traffic was light so we got there in record time. Found a place to park, stretched, and tally ho, off we go!

Today was easier than yesterday, definitely. For one, I really took care to hydrate, and that really helped. For another, I felt good. I still struggled around the fourth set, but we are running faster than we have been. Today we looped The Lake after running two sets. Our recovery time is quicker, too, and I feel more energized at the walking portion. I can tell this exercise bid’ness is already having a positive effect on my body, and I’ve only done it four days now. I can’t wait to see how I feel in four weeks!

I decided to repeat this cycle of run two minutes, walk four minutes next week instead of moving onto run three, walk three. I really feel like I need another week before I’m ready to advance. The Man is cool with that, and says we’ll go at my pace, even though I really think he could move on with no problem. He is faster than me, for sure, because he is already running ahead of me. I’m alright with that. He always walks back to me when we’re at the walking part, but I think that when we (meaning me) get more efficient, he’ll probably go at his own pace and me mine. Back in the day (pre-kids), when I used to run, I could go for long distances, but I wasn’t ever very fast. The Man is pretty light on his feet and so it won’t surprise (or disappoint) me if he runs faster.

I’m just thrilled that we’re both doing it. This is going to be so good for us!

I still am not a fan of exercise; I still really don’t like running. I don’t think that’s a bad thing- the goal is to get to a place where it’s not as hard as it is now, and maybe then I’ll really grow to like it. However, I love how I FEEL after, and I love how it’s something that I can do, don’t have to pay for, and that it’s good for me. Thus I do it.

Peace.

Day Three and Day Four

Today was day four, but I didn’t write anything about day three, so I’ll start with yesterday.

Sooo I woke up feeling wretched yesterday, and it didn’t improve, and then there was some vomiting. I know, gross. Suffice to say, Jenna did not run. The Man did, though, and he did the whole thing. I gots to say, I was really proud of him for going ahead and doing it. He said it was a lot harder not running with me, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy and wanted.

Today I woke up feeling fine, and knew that this evening we would be going running.

It was really, really hard for me today. I don’t know if it’s because I felt like crud all day yesterday, or wasn’t hydrated enough, or because I skipped a day, but today I found myself really struggling. I cut short one of the two minutes segments, and walked. I did run the whole set, though. It was so hard! It felt like my thighs gained about twenty pounds each. My ankles hurt, my lungs did that stupid burn thing, my body was just TIRED. It sucked. It was horrible. I hated it!

But I did it anyway.

I didn’t want to; I wanted to just stop, say SCREW THIS! and go home and eat cheesecake (and I don’t even have any cheesecake). However, I knew that I was going to feel this way, because as with all exercise programs, I ALWAYS feel this way by day three, or four, or sometimes even five. And I usually quit around then. I’m a wuss when it comes to this exercise stuff. The difference is, this time, I. am. determined.

I don’t want to be this chunka chunka anymore! I don’t want to buy another size up of pants! I want to be able to run with my best friend when we finally get together! I want to keep up with my children; I want to be a good example for them! I want to feel good, look good, and feel good about how I look instead of “accepting” and “being ok with” and “settling”.

I want this. I will have this. I want this more than I want to quit. So while I may bitch and moan and whine and complain, I want this more than I want almost anything right now.

And so I keep on.

The Man, however, did awesome today. He ran the whole thing smoothly and made it look easy. I was so proud of him! His determination makes me want it more. His hanging in there makes me want to keep up. I am so glad we’re doing this together. Eventually I know that he’ll run faster, because he’s pretty quick, and that’s alright with me. I just like that we’re starting out together and we’re doing it together. I’m proud of him for stepping up.

And, yeah. I’m out. Gotta shower!

Peace.

 

Round Two!

I’ll be honest, I didn’t want to go today. My husband was the one who insisted I get up, get dressed, and get in the car. He even drove (for those of you not in the know, I always drive). I was so not wanting to do it.

For one, we stayed up late last nite; we had guests, and the nite ranneth long. And second, yesterday was really hard to get through for me, and I was sure that today was going to be more of the same laborious, painful, panting torture.

I don’t usually like it when I’m wrong, but today I was glad to be.

On the drive over to the The Lake, I informed The Man that I probably wouldn’t run the whole thing, I was feeling really unmotivated, I would run as much of it as I could, but probably walk the rest of it, blah blah blah. He told me, “Don’t be a wimp! You can do it!”.

I was pretty sure he was wrong.

We got there, parked, stretched, and yeah, off we went. The first two minutes were good. I felt fine. I was sure, though, that this was only because I was at the start. It would start to suck soon. We did our four minute walking, and started the second leg. I was breathing hard, but I was doing great. I felt great.

Weird.

Long and short, except for a weird stutter in the fifth leg of the routine in which my body suddenly decided that we were walking NOW, I felt really, really good. Today was way easier than yesterday. My breathing was better. No burning lungs thing happening, which is a good thing. My muscles are really sore, which is to be expected, but all in all, I feel fantastic.

Interesting.

The Man had a harder go of it today than I did, actually. He was lagging behind me a bit today, which was the total and complete opposite of yesterday, where he was practically dragging me around. Around the fourth leg of things, he picked up the pace and found his groove, so he finished strong. He said he felt a lot better after the third rotation.

I wonder how tomorrow will go. The Man has to work, so we decided that instead of getting up earlier than we already do (we rise at 5:45 every morning), we’re going to go after he gets off work. We haven’t decided which day to take off yet, so we’ll probably run through the whole week.

I guess we’ll see how it goes!

Peace.

Day One, Take Two

Despite the fact that my first attempt did not go as planned, today’s attempt was met with success! Yes, I did it. I got up and went to The Lake and ran!

Because we are sadomasochists, The Man and I woke up at five minutes after six this morning (did I mention that today is SATURDAY? and that not even my children were awake yet?). The truth is, we were just so damn excited to start running that we just couldn’t wait. And I’m totally lying. Really, though, we’re used to getting up early on the weekdays, so on the weekends, our bodies totally ignore that we can sleep in. And generally, once I’m awake… I’m awake. Sucks, but there it is.

Anyway, we did lounge about in bed for a bit, til we heard the offspring stirring, then we got up and got ready to do our thing. I had a spot of breakfast, just a few bites, because I can’t work out on a totally empty stomach. Then we headed out the door.

It’s been really cloudy here the past few weeks (that whole June gloom that So Cal gets) and the it was fairly cool. A little tiny drizzle. A sweet smelling breeze.

Perfect, I thought.

The Lake was just beautiful. There weren’t that many people there; I guess we sadomasochists are in short supply. Makes for good parking and virtually empty running trail.

We stretched, and without any real fanfare, The Man marked our time and off we went.

Ok, this is the part where I’m supposed to tell you how awesome it felt, how good it was, how happy I was. Yeah, and I would be lying. I wasn’t kidding when I said I hated exercising, I do, I really really do. Lungs burn, muscles cry out it in protest, whole body says to me, Lady, what are you DOING to us? kind of thing. My breathing was labored, I sweat like a psycho, my face gets all red, my body goes through this awful I-wanna-shut-down-now feeling, and my legs itch like crazy from my long unused capillaries popping open.

That wasn’t how it started, of course, but about five minutes into it, and it only got harder.

HOWEVER. I know from past experience that it starts out this way, which is why so many people quit (myself included) but if one persists, it gets easier with time and effort. My body is not used to this kind of activity. Sedentary existence, remember? I used to be quite active, back in the day.

The part I love about exercise, though, and you can’t get this from anything else, is the charge you feel AFTER (ok, after I stop gulping for air and can talk again). That groovy, almost high, feeling. It’s both physical and mental, and there’s nothing else like it, and LOOOOVE it.

I am so happy we did this. I mean, I may not love doing it, but I love that we ARE doing it. I’m especially glad that The Man is doing it with me, it makes it so much easier to get out there and do it, and he’s really the best cheerleader ever.

I hope that after my body gets used to running, it stops being so hard and starts being something that I really like, enjoy, and… dare I say it… love.

Hope springs eternal!

Peace.

 

Breathe

I ran my ass off today, but not THAT way.

Tomorrow is The Day. Today was errand day. I had grocery shopping to do, and believe me, that is not exactly a light feat around here. I shop for eight people, so I get a lot of stuff.

Anyway, tomorrow starts the running. The Man is still on board, which is cool. We even bought him a new pair of running shorts earlier this evening. Whilst on my journies today, I did take a minute to look at running shorts for me, too. I didn’t see anything I liked, though. Or rather, I did see stuff I liked, but they didn’t have pockets. I need something that has deep pockets, better if it had zippers. I’m sure I’ll find something, eventually. I didn’t really look all that hard today, to be honest.

I’m looking forward to the morning. It’s sure to be a good one :) I’ll let you know how it goes.

Peace.

The Plan and The Man

In my first post, I mentioned my best friend Shanna, and how she is a long-time runner addict, and how she helps others become runner addicts, too. So it was natural, since we’re besties and all, that I would turn to her first for advice. And this is what she sent me:

This is the first thing I read; Beginner Running

This is the actual plan I’ll be following; Running 101

This is the reading I did on shoes; The Newbie Chronicles

This is how to tie your shoes; Fit To Be Tied 

All important stuff. One of the reasons I love that girl is that she never does anything halfway. She is a master at research, my own personal Google. I think that’s awesome.

So, it looks like Saturday, instead of Monday, will actually be The Day. This morning whilst driving that husband of mine, The Man, to work, he says “Are you going to run/walk with me this Saturday morning?” to which I reply, “Wait, you wanna do The Plan?” and he says, “What exactly does it entail?” and I say “Blah blah blah” and he replies, “Yeah, I’ll do that with you.”

Cool! Of course, he can only do it on the weekends, because of his work schedule, but hey! There’s that, right?

I was thinking, only considering, mind you, of buying a new scale since I threw the old one away. The old one worked perfectly fine… a little TOO fine, which is why I tossed it (let me interject here by saying that I sent the damn thing to the thrift store- I didn’t actually throw it away- it just sounds way more dramatic to say I tossed it). I have no idea how much I actually weigh, and that might be something I might want to find out. If for no other reason than accuracy when I renew my driver’s license this year… you know, strictly for honesty’s sake and all that.

We’ll see.

Peace.

 

Not Off to an Auspicious Start

The thing about this running business is that I need a place to do it. And I have a place. I’ve been there many a time, and it’s rather lovely. It’s a small fishing lake, set back off of a busy main road, and if you didn’t know it was there, you would go your life whole life never seeing it. Normally I go there just to stroll, often with my husband. My kids like it there. There are several nature trails, and lots of geese and ducks and other birds that I don’t know the name of… in short, a very pretty place. And it has the added bonus of having a long, looping running/walking trail with thoughtfully planted distance markers. What’s not to love?

Only thing is, it’s about fifteen minutes from my house by car. Now, normally I don’t even think about that distance, because normally it’s inconsequential. However, just this past week, my car had an issue. Needless to say, that issue needed to be repaired. That cost some moolah, of which I was fortunate enough to have just enough of, of which the fallout of that is until payday, the only driving I can afford to do is to take my husband to and from work, and my children to and from school. That is it. 

So my plan of running at The Lake was temporarily put on hold. No big deal, I told myself. I had decided that Monday (last Monday) was The Day. More formally known as The Day Jenna Is Getting Her Ass In Gear (And Hopefully Loses Some Of It In The Process). You can see why I shortened it to just “The Day”, right? But I digress. Anyway, I had decided that this past Monday was The Day. And since I wouldn’t be going to The Lake to run, I was going to run around my ‘hood.

I live in a cozy little neighborhood we’ll call The Village. We moved here about three months ago, and although I’m very familiar with my street, I have yet to explore the rest of them. I figured, I’d run up and down the narrow streets, see what there was to see. Who knows, maybe I’d like it so much, I’d run here half the time, for variety or whatever.

Yeah.

That isn’t going to happen.

See, what I didn’t take into account was how many people have dogs. Now, I like dogs. I’m admittedly afraid of the larger breed dogs, but I try not to let it hold me back too much. Not enough to stay indoors or anything. I did take that into account when I decided to go running around my ‘hood, but I figured what dogs there were would a) be used to people out and about; there are a lot of kids and pedestrians around here and b) they’d be behind fences.

At first, everything went well. I ran down one street, up another. Started the walking part of my running plan, and that’s when the first dog scared me. It barkedbarkedbarked from behind it’s fence, rushing back and forth, totally convinced that I was some evil doer intent on doing evil, right there, and it was letting me know that I better take that evil and do it somewhere else or it’ll give me a what-for! Like I said, fence, dog, but the fence was kinda low… and the dog kinda big… and I think that if further agitated, it could probably get over that fence if it felt it had to. Note to self; avoid this street in the future. Nooo problemo.

I rounded the corner, my heart pumping more from just the exercise, and started down another street. Wouldn’t you know it, on someone’s front porch, there was yet another large dog, this one white, and this one no happier to see me than its neighbor. There was a gate between me and it, but that dog, barkingbarkingbarking and pushing on it, well, that gate didn’t seem like much. Note to self; avoid this street, too. Okie dokie.

The final straw came when I was actually within sight of my own house, up the street and headed down a slight hill. This last dog came at me from behind a fence, jumping on its hind legs, barkbarkbarkbarkbarking at me and trying to get over. That one in particular scared the shit out of me. First, it didn’t start barking at me til I was right there next to it, and even then it did the whole lungy-growly thing before it started barking. I have to admit, I screamed and darted across the street and then just took off down it while that dog growled/barked at my ass as I booked it.

I ran all the way home.

Note to self; wait til you can go to The Lake, and then implement The Plan, m’kay? Yeah? Yeah.

Roger that.

Until then, however, I will do some stretching and stuff in my own living room. Limber up. Monday will come… again. And then we can do a take two.

Peace.

 

Back That Truck Up

My name is Jenna and I’m 32. I’m a lot of things; a mom, wife, student, friend, writer… but a runner is not one of those things. In fact, I don’t much like any type of physical activity. “Working out” is a dirty term around here. I don’t like it, don’t want to do it, and it shows.

So this whole running thing is pretty out of my ordinary. I would rather sit and read a book than get sweaty doing exercise. I don’t like to exercise. I mean, it hurts. My lungs burn, my muscles ache, I feel like dooky while I’m doing it… what’s to like? Seriously.

Except, I’m overweight. Out of shape. I have no serious health problems, but that could change. Probably will if I don’t do something about it, isn’t that how it goes? And I’m not as young as I used to be, meaning, the weight doesn’t come off like it used to. As sedentary as I would prefer to be, I would much rather be healthy.

I had my first baby when I was twenty, and I don’t know, maybe because I was so young, the weight was just easier to lose. I didn’t do anything special, the weight just came off. Silly me thought that it would be like that the next time around, so imagine my surprise when, uh, no. It wasn’t. I kept ten pounds with each pregnancy. That’s four kids, forty pounds, which had me at about 170. At 5’3”, that makes me chunky.

When my youngest was almost one, I lost about 20 pounds. Of course, I was getting divorced then, too, so maybe that had something to do with it. Still, though, I was doing Tae-Bo and the weight just came off. Then I met my second husband, and within five years, gained it back, and then some. Right now I’m at about 180. I think. I haven’t weighed myself since last year. That’s what the scale said, and I threw it away.

Denial is king.

Only, I can’t deny my huffing and puffing whenever I have to climb a flight of stairs. I can’t deny the fact that I can’t keep up with my kids anymore. I can’t deny that when I’m carrying a backpack around campus, I get really winded way too fast. And I can’t deny that my size sixteen jeans are getting too tight. I really don’t want to go up another size, but me wearing too-tight-around-the-middle jeans does not mean that they still fit me.

Denial sucks.

So I decided it was time to do something about it. And I decided that running was that thing. It’s not as random as it sounds; my best friend, Shanna, is a long time runner. She does all these training programs to help other non-runners like myself embrace their health. She’s pretty cool. Aaaand she lives in Texas. So we talk on the phone a lot, and one day I said, “Hey, Bean (because I call her Bean), wanna give me some tips on beginner running?” and I tell you, the woman actually squealed at me, she was so happy. She says, “I have been WAITING for you to ask me this for MONTHS! I’m emailing you links as soon as we get off the phone!” and she did.

That was back in March. The links she sent are really good, (I’ll post them later) and I decided to follow that advice and make a go of it. Only I thought I’d wait for the school semester to end. Well, it’s June now, and school for me is out. I guess it’s time.

Hence, the non-runner hopes to become a runner. And I figured, I might as blog about it. At the very least, I’ll be able to look back at it, right? And maybe it’ll be interesting for other non-runners who hope to be runners, too.

So that’s how this whole thing started…

Peace.