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Friday, April 11, 2008
stupid ***** class.
I am not one of those inexplicable people who NEED TO RUN. Know what I mean? The ones who just feel that their day isn't right unless they've got out there in whatever kind of nasty or nice weather and pounded the dirt with their shoes for eleventy gazillion miles. I might wish I was one of those people from time to time, in much the same way as I used to wish I could be anorexic when I was in high school. (Thank you, popular culture's conception of the acceptable female form. Thanks so much.) But instead, here is a list of things that I feel I simply MUST do every day or lose part of myself:
- Read.
- Eat.
- Check my email.
I'm going to be brutally honest and not put "pray" on there, even though it should be, because that's more of an external-reminder-needed kind of thing. Ditto "study", "read the Bible", etc.
So. I have no internal motivation to seek any kind of exercise, which is maybe why I have struggled with my weight in some degree or another for my entire life, if you include being ordinary-shaped in high school and wearing a size ten and thinking I was SO SO FAT as "struggling with my weight". But now I have a pretty hefty external motivator, in the shape of a really expensive textbook and a college class, both of whose goals are basically to teach me to feel bad about the way I feed myself and my family, and to encourage me to do better, and oh yeah, to exercise. Often. Often and sweatily. Which is why, today, I (drumroll please)....
jog/walked for two and a quarter miles.
You must understand that other than an occasional brisk walk, frequent easy strolls (which, contrary to my comfortable self-delusions, do not count), and a very brief encounter with a perky British woman named Petra in a Reebok aerobics video who kept telling me I was doing great and to remember to move those ahms, I have not engaged in substantial exercise since I was required to do so. In high school. Three pregnancies, three thousand bowls of ice cream, and nearly half a lifetime [choke] ago. So the fact that I voluntarily chose to begin the famous Couch to 5K Running Plan, with no Mrs. F or Miss H standing over me threatening a bad grade if I gave up, is a testimony to the efficacy of NUTR-10 as a motivator. I am frankly unsure if I will ever make it to the 5K end; at this point I'm just enormously proud of myself for having left the Couch. Once, so far. If I never mention this again, you'll know why. (Where is Mrs. F when you need her?)
Comments
Good for you!!! I started that C25K program many moons ago and was thwarted by my pregnancy. I am excited for you.
I found that subscribing to Runner's World was very motivating.
Of course, I am still trying to be able to run more than a few minutes without stopping. I recently realized that I have asthma (sp?), and the inhaler is really helping the breathing situation.
Posted by: Kristen at April 12, 2008 07:04 PM
Good for you! I'm impressed. :)
Posted by: Kat with a K at April 13, 2008 07:35 AM
I loathe the thought of excercise. The only thing I really like doing is a leisurely stroll with my husband in the evenings. That doesn't even feel like exercise. I also like walking around the shops. Does that count? What I actually do for real exercise is a session on our elliptical machine. It is a real workout - 30 mins gives you serious calorie burnage! I hate every minute of it - I mostly like getting off the thing, and the lovely, energetic feeling I have for the rest of the day. I do feel good having exercised, it is just the thought and the process that is hard. Worth it, though!
Posted by: Valerie at April 13, 2008 11:21 PM
Hello!!I confess-
I have been reading your blog from afar for near on 2 years now-and enjoy reading about your life..
I'd like to comment on your run-GOOD on YOU!!
I myself have always thought "I'm not a runner", but starting last week(Wednesday 9th April) a friend took me for a little jog along our beach-approx 1.5km's?(not sure about miles?) Very slowly, with her giving me tips-
I jogged for 12 mins without stopping-never thought I could-and since I've been every2nd day--Do ya wanna be my running buddy?? Keep us motivated? Compare notes--howzabout it?
I live in Perth, Western Australia-my blog is-:
www.coogee-babe.blogspot.com
Posted by: Judy at April 14, 2008 06:24 PM
That's awesome. I LOVE walking. That is one of the things I need every day like you need to eat or read. I don't know what it is. Running however...I remember in Junior High Mr. Smith wanted me to join the track team because he said he felt wind when I ran past him. These days (And 3650 packs of cigarettes later) my knees and lower back would not like me very much if I ran. Perhaps the Couch to 5K Plan might work, but I dunno if I want to um. Yeah. But GOOD FOR YOU though!
Posted by: jenn at April 15, 2008 12:54 PM
Er, when I *passed* him or *went past* him.
Posted by: jenn at April 15, 2008 12:55 PM
