The reluctant runner begins

I have always hated running.  2 years ago I was into a routine of using my elliptical every few days and was feeling pretty good about my routine.  Then, in Dec 2010, I took a leave to write my thesis.  For some reason, I decided to stop exercising so I could focus on only writing.  Very dumb decision.  Since then, I have hardly exercised at all.  I have been gaining weight, and every few months I have to buy new clothes in larger sizes.  My "will wear again when I lose weight" rubbermaid of clothes is now overflowing.  For the last year or so, I have been in the contemplation phase of change, thinking I sure would like to start exercising again, but it seemed so hard to get started.  

In June, we got bikes for our whole family and started riding together.  On one of our rides, my son said, "look at us being a healthy family"  I wanted more of that. Really fun to exercise and spend time together. July and Aug, I tried to do more active things with the kids.  

One day in mid-Aug I weighed myself and I was 1 pound away from a weight I never thought I would approach. I thought, "that's it, I'm going to change".  I visited with my best friend and she suggested running.  I have always hated running, I told her and she said she had other friends that hated it too but when they did a running clinic, they learned to love it.  I was interested, but very skeptical.  

End of Aug, we were sitting around with some friends and I asked one of them about a run she had done, the Times Colonist 10 K.  She had done a running clinic and said it was helpful.  She said if I was interested, she would go with me and was even willing to do the learn to run beginner version.  

Beginning of Sept, still in contemplation phase about running and struggling with eating.  I was so tempted to eat sugary foods and was giving in sometimes and cranky other times, feeling deprived.  For me, I can't do moderation of treats.  It's all or none.  A few years ago, I did none for a whole year and I was so proud.  The struggle isn't so hard when I know it's not even worth thinking about, I'm not going to have that treat so I might as well think about something else rather than imagining eating it.  I have been fairly fit in the past and I remember having more energy and motivation for everything in my life.  I also needed to find a way to exercise my hyper labradoodle puppy and thought maybe she and I could be running partners.  

Mid Sept, I went for coffee with our new pastor's wife.  Her husband lost a huge amount of weight by running and changing his eating habits.  The two of them love to run together and she described it in such a positive way. My son is starting hockey and his team is running together.  I went for a few runs with him and with my daughter and it was fun, I felt I was supporting him to learn to run too.  

End of Sept, last Monday, my friend and I went to the Running Room and did our first learn to run clinic.  Thank you to my husband for supporting me in this.  We are so busy and don't have many evenings free. They do 2 min walk and 1 min run, for 6 cycles. The run felt pretty easy, until the final minute, which I swear the leader cheated and made longer than 1 min.  

So here's my week (Sept 24-Sept 29):

Mon: Running Room 1 min run 2 min walk, 6 intervals (18 min total)
Tues: Elliptical for 20 min, few minutes of abs
Wed: rest
Thurs: evening, 1 min run, 2 min walk, not sure of the number of cycles, I lost track.  I felt nervous about running alone in the dark.  Need to find another time or place to run.
Fri: rest
Sat: 1 min run, 2 min walk, 6 or 7 cycles (lost count again) (I think 18 mins)
horseback riding - good for my legs and abs. I bought a timer watch from the running room so I can track my cycles. 

Today, I feel good about my week.  I have eaten well (packed lunch to work every day except Friday, only ate the fruit at a staff education session), I do have more energy and I definitely feel better about myself, more motivated and positive in general.  

This is a really slow start but I hope I can keep it up. I have really enjoyed the time running.  I used to find it boring, but since getting my dog, I started to walk more and love looking at the leaves changing, and Christmas lights will be up again soon.  The walking helped me appreciate nature and my neighborhood, so I'm used to the quiet time to think which is nice when running too.  

I'm now in contemplation phase about registering for a 5 K run one day.  We'll see.  I need to plan out how to run when it's dark (need to exercise the dog and me)  I think I'll use the elliptical and play fetch with her in the house, and take her out with a group in the mornings now that it's getting dark for most of the time I'm not at work.   I thought about running at lunch at work, but it doesn't seem very professional and then I'd have to shower in the middle of the day. 

Anyway, I'm going to give myself a pat on the back for this week and keep taking it slow and steady.  Any encouraging words welcome.  Thank you to my three friends who encouraged me; Elizabeth, Marianne and Amanda.