RUN FOR IT!!

I started running.  Not because someone was chasing me, not because I was frantically trying to catch a bus downtown, and not because I was trying to stop one of my children from hurting themselves or each other.  Just to run.

If you're wondering why this is significant information, you must not know me all that well. Basically, I lived by this motto:

My dislike of most physical activity, particularly running, dates back to high school.  These were some of the conversations I would have with my gym teacher:

"If I walk the mile instead of running it, will I lose points?" (when the teacher said no, I would not lose points as long as I went the whole mile, I couldn't figure out why all of the fools around me were about to get all sweaty and out of breath, when they would get the same grade regardless?)

"If my selected activities for this term are ping pong and walking the track, will I still receive an A?" (teacher said yes, I would still receive an A...I think we all know what activities I stuck with)

My personal favorite: my senior year, my gym teacher told me that he was giving me extra points in the class that day because he had never seen anyone put more effort into avoiding the ball during volleyball, and by his calculations, I probably used up more energy doing that than anyone else in the class who had actually participated.  I'm such an overachiever!!

Get the picture?

Ok, so I don't exercise.  I hate being hot.  I hate being sweaty.  I hate the fact that my lungs feel like they're going to explode when I do more than sprint for the bus.  But-I also hate the thought of having something bad happen down the road because I'm lazy.  I hate the thought of my kids visiting me in the hospital because I was lazy.  I hate the thought of not setting a good example for them about the importance of fitness because I'm lazy.

I have high blood pressure (thanks, family history!) so I'm at an even higher risk than other women to develop heart disease.  We do our best to feed our family healthy meals, but I have a sweet tooth that just won't stop.  So....for myself, and for my family, I decided to start running.

I'm doing the Couch to 5K program, which is going well so far.  I have completed 2 full weeks, going into week 3.  I've been running three times per week, for roughly 30 minutes of activity at a time (it alternates walking/running, with increased intervals each week)

I don't love it-but I don't hate it.  I don't love it-but I didn't die on the side of the road trying to do it.  So, I figure that's something for me.  Listening to music for the 30 minutes is my saving grace; Britney can get me through anything! (I'm a proud 32 year old Britney Spears lover-don't judge)

I signed up for a 5K on June 9th; I don't have full confidence that I will be able to run the entire thing by then at all, but even if I can do some, I'll consider it a win.