For real. It’s been at least a year since I posted, and I’m a terrible person.
Not really, but yikes.
In an attempt to do some more writing for fun, I’m bringing the blog back (again). I’m inspired by by friend Chris, who recently started his own blog. Check that out here.
I’m currently training for the Sioux Glow 5K, which I’m running (yes, running) in August with my sister and friends. New things! I’m not a runner. At all. But, it’s been going well. I detail my adventure with training and trying to get fit in this column I wrote for the paper. It’s slated to run next week, but wanted to share it all with you now:
“One more step, one more step, one more step…”
If you passed me on the bike trail, jogging very slowly along, you might hear me muttering those words over and over again in between ragged gasps for air, and you might think I’m losing my mind.
In reality, I’m doing everything I can to keep my feet moving in front of me.
I’m not a runner. I never have been in my life. I was an active kid, I played basketball and softball, and spent many an afterschool hour riding my bike and canoeing. But, I never ran as a hobby. Track never appealed to me, and cross country seemed simply exhausting.
I used to joke that I would run just as fast if my legs were tied together.
But, as the years have brought me well into adulthood, I’m ashamed to say I’ve adopted more of a sedentary lifestyle, a few extra unwanted pounds and not-so-great diet.
I’d like to, and have, blamed my office job, or the hours I work, or my number of commitments and obligations, the list goes on and on. But, in reality, the only thing I have to blame for feeling ashamed of my body and my health, is me.
So, I’m making a change.
They aren’t big, monumental changes, just what I like to call “small tweaks” in my everyday life, starting with no bun for my grilled cheeseburger, less salt on my food, whole grains, and more fresh fruit and vegetables instead of potato chips.
Getting myself moving more is also a goal.
I’ve committed to running a 5K in August with a co-worker and my sister, so I’ve started a training regiment through an app on my iPhone (technology is great). The app trains you over eight weeks, starting with alternating minutes of running and walking, eventually cutting down on the walking time until all you’re doing is running. For 35 minutes. Gulp.
I’m several sessions into the program, but so far, so good.
The first three minutes of running really, really suck, if I might be so bold, but after that, it’s not so bad. I’m up to eight minutes of running per 25-minute session, one minute at a time. Let me tell you, that minute before I get to walk again seems like the longest minute of my life. But, I keep slogging along, and keep telling myself to make one more step, one more after that and one more after that, and before I know it, I’m at the end of my workout.
By then I’m tired, out of breath, and sweaty, but I feel energized, clear-headed, and most of all, proud of myself for doing it.
My ultimate goal is to have Carrie Underwood-like legs and the body to match, and some days it seems like I might never get there. The other day I put my pants on, and they were just a little looser than normal. I smiled.
It’s the little victories that will keep me going, putting one foot in front of the other.
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