Monday, March 4, 2013

Back in Shape!!

I’ve seriously been thinking about getting back to running – I’m definitely out of shape, and back where I weighed before I did Weight Watchers around 2010. I lost 22 pounds on the program, and I felt and looked much better than I do now. I could blame it on breaking up with a terrible ex-boyfriend and meeting a new guy and putting on the new relationship pounds over the past 2-3 years. But, I’ve always heard that there’s nothing to blame but myself. I knew I liked how I looked and felt about myself and how clothes fit me, and I just stopped.

I do remember how I did at least like having something to do when I had to do a “run” on the Couch to 5K program. Or every time I read an article on Dean Karnazes, I think “I wish I really had that desire to run; people who do it all the time seem to really love it, and I want to have that”. And every time Zach goes ski mountaineering, or skiing, or climbs a 14er, I think “wow I’m just really lazy. I don’t have anything like that. I want something like that”.

And running, I can do. I've done it before, and I’m still proud of it. So why not do it again?

Not that my life isn’t going well with a great boyfriend, a place to live, and a new job, but I really feel like I need something to make me feel good about myself again. Everyone seems to have their “thing”… And I don’t have one. Not to mention, my last home was in a flat neighborhood – so why didn’t I run there? And even though my apartment complex is in a very hilly neighborhood, they have a workout room with treadmills – why haven’t I run there? And, my new job even has a gym with treadmills – I should run there!!

Color Me Rad” is a run coming up in June that during the 5K, at different points of the race, the runners are pelted with brightly colored powder. It’s very similar to The Color Run which is a race I’ve always wanted to do. I really would like to do it with someone though, or at least have someone there to cheer me on! Zach doesn’t run, and I don’t really know anyone who runs just yet, so I just have to think about it. Plus, I really should be more active and it would be fun to do outdoor activities with him, so it would help me get into shape for climbing some 13ers and 14ers this summer! Which, surprisingly, I’m really looking forward to.

So I posted a request on a friend’s Facebook page to see if she wanted to do the “Color Me Rad” run with me. She was actually the person who initially inspired me to start running – I was doing the employee newsletter, and she had just finished her first marathon! She replied to my post, and instead invited me to do a Glow Run with her at the end of April! That’s barely 2 months away, which seems like a while, but I haven’t done ANY kind of jogging or running since October 2011, so that’s going to be a lot of training. But she is an extremely positive and motivational person, and isn’t taking any of my excuses!


Plus, I got really excited with the exchange I had with her on Facebook, and the Glow Run looks like a lot of fun…and I ran an errand at lunch so now I REALLY have no excuses!!


The only thing left to do is sign up for the run online (before the deadline increases the price!!). And then consider doing the “Color Me Rad” race in June. The first deadline is next Friday, but knowing how long it takes me to make decisions, I won’t make it. And it only goes up $5… so we’ll see.

I am also seriously considering going back on Weight Watchers. It felt really good last time to lose that weight, I already know it works, and I already know it’s going to take 2-3 months to really see some weight loss, and maybe 1 month to start seeing clothes fitting differently. This week I’m giving myself a trial run back on the program, to get back into the rhythm of things. Also, I want to see how it will go with having a new boyfriend, explaining it to him, and especially watching what I’m eating now that we eat out a lot more than I used to. I’m not so open that I would post a before picture just yet – I’d really like to see where the running and eating better get me, and I can post a before and after side by side, so you can really see the difference.

No comments: