Has she ever pouted her lips and called you pookie?
Posted on June 20, 2009 in C25K, fitness, pondering | 10 Comments
I’m firmly believing that at some point in February I was abducted by aliens.
No, stop laughing and hear me out.
Anyone who knew me in school could tell you that I did nothing athletic. I rode horses for a couple of years, but not competitively and only for an hour a week. In gym class, while playing softball, I was the one in the outfield who was either being chased by a bee or trying to catch butterflies, but making no effort to catch a ball. The most active I got was the time we all chased the woodchuck that lived near the field, or when we played badminton. When we played ping-pong, Liv and I were content to play a couple of games to make it look like we were actually doing something before doing stupid shit like making the pay phone ring and shooting the ping-pong balls out of our mouths at the girls we didn’t particularly like. I would beg Mom to write me notes to excuse me from doing the mile run we were forced to do every year. Sometimes I’d just not change into gym clothes, instead sitting on the bleachers.
Hell, anyone who has known me for even a short period of time could tell you that I’m more content to sit on the couch and read or at my computer surfing the web or playing WoW. I’m the very definition of sedentary. I’ll circle around a parking lot to find a spot close to the door. When I started the C25K (Couch to 5k), week 1 involves running for 1 minute at a time. That’s a mere 60 seconds, and I couldn’t even do that. By the time I’d get to 30 seconds I’d be watching the clock and forcing myself to finish it, usually with my finger hovering over the button to decrease my speed to a walking pace as soon as I possibly could.
Not to mention the fact that I’ve never been one for eating healthy. I did the Atkins diet for a while specifically because I didn’t have to eat healthy. I ate deli meats and cheese and bacon. I made chicken strips with a batter of crushed pork rinds. In high school, my breakfast was sometimes a can of Jolt and a pack of the “lite” Hostess cupcakes, and lunch usually consisted of a can of Coke and an order of fries.
Which is why I think that at some point this winter I was abducted by aliens. I’ve never run for any reason at all, and yet here I sit annoyed about how I can’t go out and run this morning because my knee was giving me some shit last night and I don’t want to push my luck adding a 4th day of running to my week. It’s the only plausible reason that I can come up with for why I decided that I was going to get up this morning and do pushups. I’ve switched from eating a Wendy’s combo #6 (spicy chicken sandwich, no lettuce or tomato, extra mayo thank you very much) and Papa Gino’s steak and cheese grinders and sodium-laden prepackaged sandwich kits (they’re like Lunchables for grown-ups!) for lunch to a yogurt cup. My afternoon snack of a bag of Chex Mix or Cheese-Its or a handful of Soft Batch chocolate chip cookies has been replaced with a Fiber One snack bar or maybe 2 Fig Newtons. I eat a salad at dinner a couple of times a week. I eat a bowl of cereal as dessert instead of a half-pint of ice cream. I’ve almost entirely given up soda, with the exception of on the weekends if Eddie and I go out to Taco Bell or something, and I drink about 2 liters of water a day. And sure as shit, alien abduction is the only reason I just got myself a copy of the 30 Day Shred video that people keep telling me is going to kick my ass.
Supertech, I’ll make you a copy, we’ll see who dies first doing it.
On the left, we have me when we went to Salem, MA in 2007. I probably weighed around 235-240lbs. When I started the C25K in February I was around 225-230lbs, and not much different than that picture. On the right is me as seen this morning around 195lbs, 30lbs lighter, able to run for 20 minutes straight on the treadmill, and completely ready and willing to break a sweat.
And I’ll get a picture of him on the desk for you!
WOW!!! you look fucking fantastic!!! Aliens or no, you are doing such a great job!!! Seriously, i need to syphon that drive. lol…
I suppose the couch to five k thing never peaked my interest because of the whole running part too. I gave up running after i couldn’t play soccer anymore from a knee injury. But not because i don’t like to run… because i am affraid of it. Maybe i should start slow like you did and build up… where is the site?
xmichra´s last blog post..Friday Fiver
I was totally afraid to start, and it got worse when I first started because I had bad shoes, which combined with the fact that I felt like I was dying during the 60 second runs to make me feel like I was a complete failure. Once I got the shoes and things got better, I figured out that it was more of a problem getting my mind to accept that I actually could do it, even if my running pace is only 1mph faster than my walking pace, and even if I thought I was doomed to fail.
*sigh*.. clicks link and berates herself for stupidity…
xmichra´s last blog post..Friday Fiver
That would be great! I actually went to the walmart near me to try to find it..but that place is a mess and I couldn’t find it..look every where…if u would copy it I would appreciate it..and they we will see who dies 1st…lol ( I’m pretty sure I will..u seem a lil more motivated.lol)
Whether you want to admit it or not, the transformation of you becoming a couch-sitting WoW player to a runner has been evident for months now. In following you on Twitter, I see very little now (through Tweets) noting the dubious “achievments” you’ve earned in WoW (though you have digressed some with this Spymaster game
)to more and more Tweets reporting your experiences with your runs outdoors. Another sign that you’re becoming a runner is your frustration in not being able to run. Example: >>and yet here I sit annoyed about how I can’t go out and run this morning because my knee was giving me some shit last night<< Very good sign. The guilt that manifests itself when one cannot complete a scheduled run, common to all runners, is beginning to manifest itself in you as well. What you’ve accomplished through your willingness to tackle the C25K (Couch to 5k) program is concrete and measureable. The results are obvious. There is going to come a point when you find that 3K is an easy distance to complete, then 4K, and on and on, and when you start finishing longer runs on a consistent basis, you will really see your physique change almost expontentially. I commend you for taking this challange, and I hope you do continue with your training long after you achieved your goal of running a 5K.
All this, and I still play WoW
Your running is making you that much more talented. Even in WoW. There maybe somebody, someday who is at a higher level in the game, or can defeat you consistently (I’m clueless as to how the game is played), and they may even go as far as gloat about their superior gamesmanship to you. And if that ever does occur, you can respond, “Yeah, you might be good at pushing some game controls quicker than me, but I can kick your ass anyday in a 5K road race, you chump! Pffft!”
Fact is Crystal, ANYONE can play WoW. Far fewer can even run a mile, let alone a 5K. Always remember that.
You’ve worked hard, you look amazing.
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Yay you!
Do a pic with the same outfit on for damatic effect.;-)
Congrats, seriously. You look awesome!
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