And So I Begin

"Week One, Day One"

And so I ran tonight. Ouch. Let me just say that that was hard. But I did it. I was supposed to start with a brisk 5-minute warm-up and then jog/walk for 20 minutes, alternating jog for 60 seconds, walk for 90. Since I have yet to purchase a watch or a stopwatch, I instead counted my steps. Every time my left foot hit the pavement (well, gravel in my case) I counted. So I jogged for 90 steps and I walked for 120. I also took my 2 year old in the jogging stroller. And may I also point out that the track I took, I remember it being a lot shorter! It took me 37 minutes to get back to my house. According to my husband, the way I went is at least 2 miles (I thought it was only 1!) And I ran approximately a third of the way.

The walking part was pretty easy. I was proud of that. And the jogging, in itself, wasn't too bad at first, I guess. Actually, the first 45 steps was pretty easy, the next 25 were harder, but the last 20 were terrible. And each repetition was harder than the last. I started out counting up to 90 steps, but soon discovered that counting backwards was more motivating. It felt great to get down to 20 steps, and then getting to 10 and then 1 and being able to walk again, oh the relief.

And then I wanted to quit, oh how I wanted to stop. I had my cell phone, and it would have been so easy to call my husband to come and get me, and I was sorely tempted to do so. But I didn't. Just as I was at the end of my strength, a song came on my Ipod workout playlist.  My mother will appreciate the fact that several Journey songs are on this playlist, but the song "Don't Stop Believing" got me through the hardest part, which came about halfway. While the song in and of itself isn't all that good of a storyline, I suppose, the chorus "Don't stop believing, hold on to that feeling!" gave me strength to say, okay, just one more rep. Okay, just 10 more steps, just 5 more steps, just one more step. And then I was home, and I had made it, I succeeded. Sweet.

I walked in the door of my home on jelly legs. I do believe I overdid it, and on Wednesday I will take the short track, which should be closer to 20 minutes. Although I CAN do 40 minutes, I want to start out slowly so I do not injure myself overdoing it. I weighed myself both before and after running. I have read that when exercising, you should drink before and after (and sometimes during) to keep hydrated. A good rule of thumb, is to drink 8 oz of water (at least) for every pound you lose while running. I apparently didn't lose a thing today, but I still drank two glasses of water. And an hour after my venture, I feel pretty good. While I don't feel the adrenaline surge of good physical feeling, I do feel good about having done it. I feel good about setting out and accomplishing. And considering my venture was about 2 miles, I can already do about 2/3 of a 5K, which is exciting to me :D

"Before"

I took a picture right before I left, because I wanted to have a good reference for where I started. Bear in mind, that this is me a little over 30 lbs lighter than where I started, but nevertheless, it serves as a good before picture.

And so, this is where I begin. 5 ft 8 or 9 and 228 lbs.