weeks 2 through 5

so the bad news is that i evidently can't get up the motivation to blog weekly about my getting in shape progress. but the good news is that i very much can, and am, getting the motivation to exercise regularly. i finished week 5 of the C25k program last night.

when last i reported, i had finished week #1 which consisted of 60 seconds jogging alternating with 90 seconds walking for 20 minutes. it was really hard and not super enjoyable. last night i ran 20 minutes straight and loved almost every minute of it. holy wowzy. i am straight up hooked on the sweet sweet endorphins. it's the equivalent of 2/3 of $7 bottle of pink wine.

last time i also gave my stats and times and paces. i have thought about this a lot and i think i am going to stop with that. i decided that for right now i dont care how fast or how far i am running. i just care that i am running. if i get to a point where i can maintain consistent discipline with running and it stops being a physical challenge, then i can start trying to reach numerical goals. right now my only goals are: run and run hard enough to make it hurt a little bit.

i will keep telling you my weight loss stats though since that's neither here nor there as far as how i run (though it is VERY here, in terms of "up in here" on my person). i lost another 3 lbs. for a total of 7 since i started 5 weeks ago. shmeh. i watch the biggest loser and those numbers would get me booted off lickety split, but i am not quite at that level yet so i am trying to adjust expectation, so i am happy with my 7. plus i bet i would be at negative 10 if it werent for HSD2.0 and raechels culinary excellence (which i BEGGED her not to go light on for my sake when she sweetly offered).

up through last saturday i was on the running 3x per week plan. then i decided i needed a new swimsuit for summer, so on sunday night i took a rest day and went to target. approximately 13 minutes, 5 large-sized mom swimsuits (spanx makes swimwear, you guys), and a permanent hatred of lycra later, i was storming out empty-handed, shaking my head and deciding that my rest day was cancelled.

i am now running every night.

let me interject something here. the swimsuit debacle was great motivation that night. but mirror-revulsion will only get you so far. i calmed down, tried on a few of my more flattering maternity swimsuits (no shame in that game), and thought seriously about the daily running thing. two big factors in deciding that i should do this were: most importantly, i have never suffered from any kind of chronic athletic injury. years of playing volleyball and training daily never gave me tendon, joint or bone issues. i have been very lucky in this, and if running ended this streak then, doy, i would talk to my doctor and change my habits. dont you DARE go and do this and hurt yourself and try to sue me. talk to your doctor before engaging in sexual activity. if you experience an erection lasting longer than 4 hours, seek medical attention immediately.

the second reason is this: one of the most detested traits that i have in myself is a black or white, all or nothing mentality. if there is any wiggle room to be found in something that i don't really want to do, i will wiggle my way right out of doing it at all. this was starting up with the rest days. i would take more than i needed between runs and i was starting to fall behind. i would make bargain with myself concerning when and how long i would take off in between workouts. i am working on this character defect in myself overall and trying to do better with balance, but until then, with regard to exercise at least, i am going 100% rather than risk slipping back to 0%. i am just going to not allow myself any wiggle room (except for the wiggle from my jiggle which will be gone in a few months i hope). i cant juggle and find loopholes in my rest days if i don't have any. run every day. its that simple.

some notes from the past 4 weeks:

-my health & fitness junkie mom read the post recapping my first week and decided to make my mothers day gift some money to put towards a double jogging stroller so that we could get out as a family. we found a really awesomely reviewed one that also happened to be the cheapest one and were able to get it for free thanks to my mom's gift. we are LOVING it. the kids cant get enough of riding around in it and having jesse with me has really inspired me and made it so much more fun.

in long sleeves during the freakish may cold snap (my coworker called it "blackberry winter." love it!). the hand-holding was utterly spontaneous. too bad they dont seem to like each other or the stroller. ha!

-since jesse has some distance running experience, he was able to give me some pointers after our run together. i had been sprinting like a psycho on the jog intervals and completely destroying myself and then barely being able to move during my walking ones and subsequent running periods. jesse said i need to aim to keep a steady pace the entire time. now that i am doing longer, uninterrupted runs this is really coming into play. my run pace is slower but there is a lot less sprint/death-crawl variation going on and more overall briskness. also having jesse there makes me happier and more likely to try to impress him and make him proud so i run harder.

he wanted to run during one of my walk intervals so i chased him down to get a pic of the goodness. please imagine observing this scene from a passing car. i was sprinting after him with my phone held aloft. i'm the coolest.

-due to the glory of georgian summers, i am now running at about 9 pm to escape the heat and the evil sun's rays. this means safety first! so i wear my camping headlamp on the flashing light setting and run around town like a deranged short-circuiting coal-miner. again, this is preferable to feeling like a fatty-fat the other 23.5 hours of the day. i am looking into a flourescent, reflective safety vest too. what if i just wore the vest and my sports bra? or just put reflective tape on my mammarials? would that be so awesome? i'd always have my highbeams on.

-you know what a lot of bugs like when it gets dark? LIGHT! and now that i have this handy-dandy one strapped to my head i am meeting lots of new thoraxed friends. i got a nice bug in the mouth on sunday night and narrowly avoided the bastard child of a moth and a pterodactyl reigning fury on my brow last night. if that beast had touched me it might have been the end for me. i also got the joy of watching a frog spring across the street. i LOL'd.

-lady gaga, usher and the black eyed peas are sometimes the only thing that pull me through. its crazy how a song can pump you up so much on a physical level. last night i was thrilled because at the beginning of AC/DC's "thunderstruck" he says something about stuck in the middle of the train tracks right as i was jogging over our town's railroad tracks, and then during "boom boom pow" later on our town was shooting of fireworks for memorial day. thank you, world, for letting my running songs be your soundtrack for a moment.

horrid phone pic. this was taken at 6:30 am (no makeup, no sleep: no judgement) before we left for TN. it was the inaugural run with the double stroller and an ersatz "before" pic for me even though i was already 2 or 3 weeks in. note: i do not normally touch the stroller in any way because i am a wimp and will never push these lardies myself. it was staged so i wouldnt be all alone in the photo.

what are yalls extra most favorite songs for getting your sweat on? i need more of these gems!