Whereupon I gloat ...
The idea of running (unless I was being chased by a life-threatening horde of zombies dressed in clown outfits) has always been one that didn't sit well with me. I always though that I could just go outside and play a sport ... why would I run for the sake of running? And, at that, why would I run on a treadmill where the only thing I could see was my own bobbing head in the mirror.
So earlier this summer when I decided I really did want to lose weight, I started hitting the gym on a regular basis. Instead of going once a month and jogging for 10 minutes and calling it a day, I really made an effort to go regularly and pick up the pace each time I visited. Today, all that hard work paid off.
The final details are 37 minutes and 3.11 miles ... which, if you do the metric conversion, means I have just run my first 5k. Ever. In the history of whoah.
It's certainly not fast, and the first 10-12 minutes are always kind of struggle, and my friend's son (who is 16) runs something like a two-minute mile uphill, but this is a heck of an accomplishment for me. And the fact that I can kick up the speed from 5 mph to 6 at the end of the run to sprint to the finish ... that's just something that makes me happy. I don't know how I'd do on a road course, or anywhere I didn't have the treadmill pacing me, but at least I know I can do it.
I've been pushing myself a lot over the last few months but I think it's hard for people I see all the time to really notice 'cause, well, I see them all the time. But last night I ran into a girl I worked with at On the Border when I was waiting tables in Jersey and the first thing she said was "I didn't recognize you since you've lost so much weight." Honestly, that was great to hear.
I'm twelve pounds from my first goal: going skydiving on my birthday (November 24) and it's pretty exciting. But mostly I'm just happy that the results are showing all the hard work I'm putting in. All my clothes are too big and I can run three miles at a time (which is about 2.9 miles more than I used to be able to). I'm just really happy with all the progress I've made.
So earlier this summer when I decided I really did want to lose weight, I started hitting the gym on a regular basis. Instead of going once a month and jogging for 10 minutes and calling it a day, I really made an effort to go regularly and pick up the pace each time I visited. Today, all that hard work paid off.
The final details are 37 minutes and 3.11 miles ... which, if you do the metric conversion, means I have just run my first 5k. Ever. In the history of whoah.
It's certainly not fast, and the first 10-12 minutes are always kind of struggle, and my friend's son (who is 16) runs something like a two-minute mile uphill, but this is a heck of an accomplishment for me. And the fact that I can kick up the speed from 5 mph to 6 at the end of the run to sprint to the finish ... that's just something that makes me happy. I don't know how I'd do on a road course, or anywhere I didn't have the treadmill pacing me, but at least I know I can do it.
I've been pushing myself a lot over the last few months but I think it's hard for people I see all the time to really notice 'cause, well, I see them all the time. But last night I ran into a girl I worked with at On the Border when I was waiting tables in Jersey and the first thing she said was "I didn't recognize you since you've lost so much weight." Honestly, that was great to hear.
I'm twelve pounds from my first goal: going skydiving on my birthday (November 24) and it's pretty exciting. But mostly I'm just happy that the results are showing all the hard work I'm putting in. All my clothes are too big and I can run three miles at a time (which is about 2.9 miles more than I used to be able to). I'm just really happy with all the progress I've made.