What Has This Girl Talked Me Into?

So Jaime started texting me tonight about 11pm.  She wants to know if I have made up my mind about doing the 3-Day with her in November.  The deadline to sign up for only $30 instead of the regular $90 fee expires at midnight.  She knows my weakness! I am my Daddy's daughter, and my Mama's daughter.  Neither of them could resist a good bargain, especially Daddy!  So, I was actually considering this, because I know we would have so much fun together, but it's insane to think I could walk 20 miles in one day, right?  And then get up and do it again the next day, and the next!! This is WAY more than the 5K I envisioned us running together! I haven't even been at this exercise thing a week yet and I've already hurt myself. There's no way I can do this!  And I will have to be gone four days, surely James isn't going to agree to this. So thinking I may have found my out, I say to my loving husband,  

"Hey, James, you know that 3-Day walk Jaime was talking about doing in November?"  

"Yeah."  

"What would you think if I said I wanted to do it with her?" 

He smiles and says, "I think that is a wonderful goal for you to have."  

WAIT...WHAT?!?!?  Really?  OK - so now I am committed - or need to be committed, one!

It's a done deal.  We are both signed up.  I have almost 6 months to whip this body into shape and raise $2300 in donations.  Oh how I cringe at the thought of that.  The overwhelming thought of walking 60 miles in 3 Days pales in comparison to my trepidation at having to do fundraising!  But I'm confident I can get 'er done!  I really am looking forward to spending a weekend with Jaime walking our buns off and camping in hot pink tents for two nights with thousands of strangers. It really does sound like a LOT of fun, and it looks like a giant pink party!  Just check out this picture!

 I borrowed this photo from another website, so the "LEARN MORE" button does not actually link

to anything.  If you would like more information, and I hope you do, please CLICK HERE!

The link above takes you to my Personalized Donations Page. I hope you will consider supporting me in this crazy journey by contributing toward my goal of $2300. All donations are tax deductible and some employers will even match your donation. 

Still Faster Than Sitting On The Couch!

Found this cute t-shirt online and decided this is a good motto for me. Anything besides sitting my butt on the couch is improvement right? Something is better than nothing! Well, allrighty then! I am doing this! I will get in shape! I will get my body healthy! I will get my butt up off the couch! I want to be able to run and play with my kids this summer! I want to inspire them to be more active. I want them to be healthier and happier as well. This has to start with me and today is the day!

I finally downloaded the Couch to 5K (C25K) App on my iPhone, created a playlist of some rocking tunes, put on that awesome purple water-wicking shirt that's been sitting on a pile of laundry for over a week, and set out! James snapped this photo as I was setting off on my first workout in only God knows how long!!

The idea behind the C25K plan is to gradually take you from being a couch potato to being able to run 5 Kilometers (3.1 miles) in only 8 weeks. You do three 30 minute workouts a week alternating timed intervals of walking and running. Each week you add a little more running and do a little less walking as you build up your stamina. I have read numerous testimonies of people in just as bad, if not worse, shape than I am being able to do this. So far I haven't found any accounts of people keeling over and dying. Being overweight and lazy is slowly going to kill me, so It's worth a shot!   

The Workout for Week 1 goes like this:
"Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Followed by a five-minute cool-down walk." 

Oh...my...word... I DID IT!!! The first minute of running wasn't so bad. The second was a little harder but still doable. The next few I thought I was going to die! I went around the nice walking trail in our neighborhood. The one they built several years ago that I never set foot on until today! I had to take a short stop near the pool to run over and get a drink from the water fountain. I am soooo out of shape it's not even funny. But I pushed through and made it! I am so proud of myself! James is too! Ready to do it again on Wednesday! Here's my tired sweaty self taking a well-deserved rest! -->

Funny story: There was this older lady out walking this morning. She was maybe 10 feet ahead of me on the trail. I was thinking, once I start my little jogging sections I will eventually pass her. NOPE! I actually LOST ground to her while jogging! LOL!

But Good For You!

 

So I've noticed these number stickers on cars recently but I didn't understand what the point of them was.  Then I figured it out.  26.2 is a Marathon, 13.1 is a Half-Marathon, 10K, and 5K are races.  So they are bragging stickers for runners.  Ok, that's pretty cool. Well today I found a sticker for me:

 

LOL!  This totally cracks me up!  So no, I am not a runner, obviously, but I have recently been inspired by a few friends and relatives who have recently picked up the sport and started doing 5K races.  I think that is pretty awesome.  And I've been toying with the idea of trying this for myself and turned to the internet to do some research.  Here is my progress so far:

• Got Inspired - already mentioned that
• Set an ambiguous goal to run a 5K "sometime next fall"
• Emailed myself an article titled "Couch To 5K"
• Pinned a similar article on Pinterest
• Looked at an iPhone App that will help with that goal (did not download)
• Bought a moisture wicking purple shirt to wear while training
• Looked at running shoes

Baby steps, people, baby steps!  Trust me, just THINKING about running is progress for me!