Motivation!

So, if you know me, you know that I love monkeys/apes. Don't ask my why, I just do. My favorite part of the zoo is the ape/monkey house, following closely by the big cat exhibit. Chimps are by far my favorite. I could watch them for hours. Anyway, today I get home from the gym to find a package waiting for me from my friend who recently completed her own C25K program. Inside was this little guy, sent to me as a "hooray you finished a 5K" and a birthday present. He's got a few motivational phrases on him and wears a 5K medal around his neck.  He's pretty bad ass.

The phrase that sticks out to me the most: "Just Keep Running"

Since finishing the C25K, I've really slacked off on my running. Right now I'm basically going out for a jog once a week. Before this, I was running 1 mile on the treadmill. I figured the mile run was always the trickiest feat for me, so I need to maintain the ability to run a mile without dying. I want to return to running three times a week. I need to. Monkey Man is going to help me.

I think I'm going to put in him in my car so that he's not out of sight out of mind. Tomorrow at the gym, I'm jogging for 20 minutes at least (or run the loop around my neighborhood). I'll slowly work back up to 30 minutes and hopefully more. I just have to figure out a way to enjoy it a little more than I do currently. I like jogging outside, but it's getting colder and my chest always hurts afterward (from the cold air). I'm thinking about splurging on some kind of tablet so that I can download movies to watch at the gym. Lord knows that they do a crappy job of maintaining program variety on the TVs there.

Anyway... here's to a revamp of my running program. It's coming at a perfect time because I'm pretty sure I've been in a plateau for the last month.

Couch to 5K: Week One

One of the worst things about my childhood was having to do the mile run once a year. I know it sounds stupid (and trivial), but when you're a fat kid and everyone else is finishing LONG before you...it has a way of killing your confidence. And I've always been sensitive, so it REALLY killed my confidence. I felt like a failure each time I tried to run. I cried a lot. I hated it.

So, for years I avoided running or doing anything that involved a lot of physical movement that would draw attention to myself (showing anyone else how difficult it was for me to complete). Or anything that I assumed I would fail at (ie, running).

I've been on a journey toward healthiness for a year and a half now (I'm one pound away from a loss of fifty). Recently, while walking, I've had the following thought: "I could probably start jogging now."

Shocker.

I've always been one to trust my body, so.... I decided to tackle a couch to 5k running program last week and successfully completed week one (three 20 minute run/walk sessions). At the end of each I actually felt like I could do a little more. I'm really proud of myself. This is no easy thing for me... but it's breaking some preconceived notions about my ability. I can totally do this.

I'm on to week two. It's definitely more of a challenge, but I finished the first run of three and didn't die. I say that's a big achievement.