Sunday, August 19, 2012

I'm not a Runner....

...by any means, but I'm trying!!!
Let me start from the beginning of what I mean. At the end of June my Mom had a mild heart attack and from that day I decided I have to take better care of myself. It was a real eye opener for me and I know I do not want to put Macey or future kids through that when I'm older. Mom had her heart attack on Wednesday and we were scheduled to leave for vacation that Saturday. The doctors told us Mom could still go on vacation if the next day or two went well.  Mom had a good night and was released from the hospital the next day...God is good! 
We went on vacation and enjoyed ourselves! We ate what we wanted, relaxed, had more junk food...you get the picture. BUT...the next day after we got home (beginning of July) the healthy eating and exercising started in the Adams household. We went to the grocery store and bought low fat/fat free everything, turkey meat (instead of beef), whole wheat pasta, veggies, and fruits. I haven't had a soft drink/ soda since our vacation in June. That is a big deal for me! I used to have to have a Mountain Dew almost every morning. Now days I only have water and I think I've had unsweetened tea twice. We allow ourselves treats once or twice a week, which might sound like a lot some people, but y'all we would have cookies or something almost every night. We try to beware of our portion sizes, no pasta, no junk food...you get the picture. We have tried hard to make healthy eating choices lately. 
That same week I started walking on the treadmill and a little outside (when it wasn't 150 degrees), but decided I needed to challenge myself a little more. One night while laying in bed I downloaded the Couch to 5K and kinda chuckled to myself that I would probably never do it. We were planning on going out of town in the middle of the week and decided to wait and start it when we got back.  So the Sunday night I dragged myself out to the garage (where the treadmill lives) and jumped on it and started week 1, day 1. I was soaking wet and thought I might die by the end BUT I DID IT! I was so proud of myself. I came running inside to tell Christian that I completed day 1. The next morning I woke up feeling good and eager to start day 2 that evening. We went to the beach again and I even ran two out of the four days we were there (another big deal for me)! I completed day 1 of week 6 this afternoon and the kicker is I've actually enjoyed running these past 5 weeks.  Y'all...I've never been the running type.  I mean I hate or should I say loathe it, but I can actually say doing this app on my phone has been fun.  I actually look forward to it in the evenings and I like to see how far I can push myself. I've also lost 10 pounds in the process! I would still like to lose another 10 - 15 pounds, but I'm taking it one step at a time. I don't consider myself a runner, I like to think of myself as someone trying to learn how to run. I'm still trying to figure out how to breath right while running, I'm not fast, I don't look very graceful, I give myself pep talks while running, I have arguments in my head to keep going, to just get though this song-but I'm trying! I've set a personal goal for myself to run a 5K by the end of the year. There is a local race October 6, but I haven't got the nerve to sign up for it yet. I'm nervous, scared, intimidated by the "real" runners...On week 4, Christian started running with me. He has been such a huge motivation. He talks me through it and encourages me when I feel like I can't go anymore and all I want to do is lay down right in the middle of the street and take a break. We take turns pushing Macey in the stroller. I push her downhill and on flat ground and he does the uphill (he's a keeper). We make a good team! I haven't talked a lot about it on Facebook, Twitter, on here, or really in general. I don't want people to think just because I'm doing some silly app on my phone that I've earned the right to talk about running...but I'm proud of myself and everyone has to start somewhere!

3 comments:

Kelly said...

You should be very proud of yourself! Running is fun. I'm not sure which app you have, but MayMyRun is really cool. It's like a GPS and tells you your distance and pace. I use it as a motivatier to push myself harder the next time! It also logs all your workouts.

You should totally do the 5k! There are all kinds of runners at a 5k and you would be surprised at the amount of walkers :)

Aishlea said...

Yay!! I think you should call yourself a runner if you are out there doing it! I've ran 3 half marathons at a very slow pace and I have to make myself think I'm a runner too so I get it. :) i think it is great you are getting out there!! And you will like a 5k and be surprised how friendly runners are!

Jamie Kubeczka said...

It's such a good thing that you are trying. I don't concider myself a runner either, never really have been but this past year I changed that. I started doing more and more with everyday and you really notice a change in yourself. Mis it up and try different things. I run up and down the hills one day, walk one day, run one day, just different things to try and stay active. Good for you! I try and eat healty, but let's be honest that is not always going to happen and I have a major sweet tooth that gets in the way. So staying active is always a good thing!