14 days to go

Today's task: 50 minute run, nice and easy

Logistics: This is a "Dad" weekend so the biggest challenge was getting out of bed.


I ran the Cooper River route today. Usually I hate this route but yesterday I biked around it three times and I think that must have finally broken my perception that the 3.5 mile loop stretches out to 15 when I run it.

During the run I thought back over the past year. Back in March of '09 I had just started training for my first 5K. I was elated the day I ran 15 consecutive minutes. I remember being so concerned about what I would wear that would keep me comfortable but not let people see my bulges and bumps.

This morning I did the run in a sports bra and shorts. Men and those women who have never struggled with their weight may not understand how momentous this is. I ran through the neighborhood with my midriff exposed. I even stopped to talk to people and didn't clutch at my middle while chatting.

Now I want to be clear, I haven't shed some enormous amount of weight this year. In fact I'm probably only 5 pounds lighter despite tripling the amount of exercise I get. I have toned up in a few areas for sure, but there's still a belly roll. The difference is that I am starting to see my body more as an engine. During a run I am so busy thinking about how to keep my legs moving, dismissing small aches and pains and resisting the urge to stop that I just don't have time to worry about what my butt looks like in these pants. We're in the middle of a heat wave here in the mid-Atlantic and I'd run buck naked if I weren't worried about mosquito bites in places nice girls don't scratch. I've started thinking about food differently too. I look at what will give me the most energy for the least effort and will last the longest (well last night I thought "Hey! There's still pie!"). At the very least I try and choose foods that won't make me need to poop in the middle of my run.

So the countdown is on and my mental work becomes staying calm about the race and making sure I enjoy every minute of it. It's been a long time coming!

Where we are now

I don't want this blog to be a dreary update of how many miles I've run, laps I've swum - how much I can press but it seems necessary to document some changes if I'm going to try and convince my glee club buddies that they, too can be more fit than they ever thought possible so here's the dull stuff:

- When I started this thing late last spring, my primary exercise was walking my kid to school, one yoga class a week and the occasional exercise tape. I was pretty proud of that schedule.

- to get ready for the race, I had to add running 3-4 times a week, using a Couch to 5k training plan and slowly adding on the time and distance. I thought that once the race was over that would be enough for me and I could go back to my normal, lazy routine. But I didn't count on getting hooked.

- An earlier post will tell why I couldn't completely laugh off a friend's suggestion that I try a triathlon. I started flailing around in the pool and signed up to work with a personal trainer two times a week. I still thought the tri was a crazy dream, but I'd give the extra workouts a shot.

- Here we are in mid October. I am working on swimming a mile. This week I've done 1250 meters three times. I keep up with the running, now working on speed but I still lie about doing time on the bike. And the personal trainer? She's brutal. She has gotten me to do things I never thought my body could do. I can't really explain the pride I feel in myself when I've finished one of her crazy ideas, like the step aerobics routine that I did ON MY HANDS.

The fun part has been to see new muscles developing. The comments I get from other people don't stink either! But most rewarding is when someone tells me what they've dared to try after hearing me talk about what I've learned.

I'm not sure my original reasons for getting into this lifestyle are all that admirable - I wanted to prove something to myself, I liked the praise I got from friends, I might have even originally been trying to gain someone's attention....but whatever got me here, I feel great. I know now I'm doing it for myself: people really don't want to hear how great my run was and the "someone" has moved on but that tri is coming up, just around the corner and though I'll probably be there by myself, I will be cheering louder than any spectator when I cross that finish line because I will have fought a doubt and dug down to find a strength and confidence I didn't know I have.

And, my legs are pretty darn hot too!