I Was Running...

You have to say the title of this post like Forrest Gump, or else it's not funny :) As the title alludes, I have been running. I started last week, and so far the excitement of doing something good has carried me through the whole week and the weekend. There are a number of reasons that I started: (1) I am super lazy and tired of not being able to go out and do the things I want to do without getting tired or sore, or wearing the things I want to wear because I have big thighs and muffin-top, (2) I am basically not outstanding at anything, I'm pretty average at everything, and I want something in my life to be proud of doing that requires hard work to accomplish, (3) I want to spend more time with my friends, and a few them are runners, (4) something to do with my husband and dog, and (5) I want to get in really good shape before we have kids next year so I have a hope of getting my body back post-baby.
What better way to get started than to have a goal in mind? My goal is the Huntsville Half Marathon on September 29th. I love the Huntsville/Eden/Liberty area because my in-laws live in Eden and we are up there a lot, so I know this run is going to be an absolutely beatiful run. Also, one of my husband's fellow officers was just recently diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic and liver cancer, and so it was decided that anyone who was willing and able would join a team, and we would try to raise funds for his treatments. So in addition to the reasons mentioned above, I can also add 'for a good cause" to my list, and that one feels good too.
I found a training guide online for an absolute "off-the-couch" beginning runner. It basically consists of differing and every-lengthening distances to run, but with one constant: you run for 3 minutes and walk for 2. You just keep doing that over and over again until you reach that day's distance requirement. It's not about finishing in a certain amount of time, it is simply about finishing! After all..

One of the reasons I can't stick with things sometimes is I set my sights too high and I get discouraged when I can't reach them right away. This 3 minute run / 2 minute walk thing is sooo do-able. The first day I did this (last Monday) I completed my three miles in about 37 minutes. The next time I did it was last Thursday, and my time was just slightly faster by about five seconds. The point is, I actually did it, and I did it without cheating or making any excuses with myself to not do it. HOWEVER, I was supposed to do a 4 mile-er on Saturday, but we went up to my cabin and I ended doing a two mile hike with about two hours worth of trail-clearing and fence-fixing, so by the time that was all said and done, my husband allowed me skip the run :) He figured I had done enough. I promise never to skip it again though!
Today's run I decided to push myself a little, so I ran the whole first mile (took a little over 11 minutes), and then I did the run/walk thing for the remaining two miles. This took 35:57. I beat my previous two times by a minute! These little triumphs are what are going to keep me going.

I've also tried to look up a few diet / nutrition tips that don't require me to make huge drastic changes that I will have trouble doing while I am also trying to change my lifestyle by running  a few times a week. One major tip I keep seeing over and over is to drink your weight in water: one oz of water for every pound you weigh. For me, thats about 126 oz's per day. I started that last week, I don't get there every day, but it's a heck of a lot more water than I used to drink, so I count any day I try to get there as a success. Another tip is no more soda! I'm not a huge soda drinker anyway, but I do occassionaly like my Pepsi with dinner, but besides one cheat this weekend at the cabin, I have stopped the soda drinking. The no-sugar tip is going to be hard, I'll admit. It's not that I stuff my face with candy at all hours of the day, but I do like an occasional sweet or two, usually in the form of a bite-sized Reese's or chocolate-covered raisin. I'm not going to set myself up for failure and say never again. Life is too short! But I will promise to keep it to a very bare minimum. I will also try to limit my intake of white bread/rice and all junk food and ice cream.
I will try to post once a week or so on my running activities and weight and thoughts. I want to blog about this because I want to see how HARD this was for me at the beginning, and look back on my thoughts and difficulties and discouragements and triumphs so that the next time I think I can't do something, I can go back and read about my journey from beginning to end, and realize that I CAN do hard things. I can do things that have nothing to do with instant gratification and have everything to do with dedication and commitment until a larger reward is received at the end. A girl who has never run a mile at a time in her life is going to run a half marathon in 17 weeks. Yep, she sure is.  Here's a few images to keep me going:

And what I want most is to be fit, confident in my own skin, and able to conquer anything!!!

I am going to be patient with myself and allow the hard work I do every time

I run to slowly work, and not get discouraged when I don't see changes right away.

I WILL fulfill this promise to myself and keep with this.

I'm going to do the HARD stuff so that I can do more GREAT stuff.

I so wish that I could depend on running getting easier, but I think the only thing I can

hope for is that it gets easier to do understand how hard I have to work, and that in

some sense, I get used to how hard a workout really is, and so it no longer scares me.

Yes, I can, and YES I WILL!!!