Magnificent MILEstones

I never thought I'd ever be able to run.  Being overweight is a burden enough when you're just walking on a flat surface (I always joked I could start a fire with the friction between my thighs), let alone up hills or even, gasp, STAIRS.  Elevators are the fat person's best friend.

Back in September, I decided that I was going to run.  I didn't care if it took me 45 minutes to run a mile.  I was going to do it.  So, I started the Couch to 5k program (you can find it here).  It's a great program to get the couch potato (me) running a 5k (3.1 miles) or 30 minutes in 9 weeks.  As I started Week 1, I had to alternate walking and jogging, where the jogging never exceeded 30 seconds.  Doable, right?

Wrong.

I couldn't even run 30 seconds without hyperventilating.  Well, this is fantastic, I thought.  I didn't stop, though.  I kept trying, and I was eventually running 5 minute spurts with (relative) ease.  I, by no means, consider myself a runner, but small steps, right?  Long story short, about 5 weeks into it, I fell off the running train, and I really haven't been a passenger since.

Melissa (remember her?  By the way, you can find her blog here) challenged all her clients to a 5k race in April as part of her New Year, New You plan.  (We also made some resolutions and goals; I'll share that later.)  So I figure this is the perfect time to start running again, and the perfect time to start my time log.

 Introducing my new segment: Magnificent MILEstones.
Jan. 5    18:18 minutes

Not great, but not as bad as it could be.

I'm going to start a long to keep track of my progress and pace of my running mile (inspired by Ben Davis of this blog here).  I'm giving you lots of reading material here, I know, but seriously... read them.  ALL.

So this is my Lesson Two in appreciating the small steps it takes to get BIG results.  What is Lesson One, you ask?

During my session with Melissa tonight, I completed this workout:

50 reps each of...
Chest press with 10lb medicine ball
Jumping Jacks (I have a very, very real fear of jumping)
Throw Downs with 10lb medicine ball
Mountain Climbers
Bicep Curls with 10lb medicine ball
High Knees
Tricep Drop with 10 lb medicine ball
Ground Jacks (now so fondly referred to as "butt flappers")
Squat Press with 8lb medicine ball
25 Leg Lifts (I couldn't do even one in mid-August)
Plank Steps in modified plank
1 Mile on anything but the stationary bike (I chose the treadmill for a walk/jog combo)

This took one hour exactly.

Now, the couple that trains before me, Amber and Scott (read Amber's awesome weight-loss blog here) completed two rounds of this circuit in the time it took me to complete one.  Of course, I asked Melissa, "What did I do wrong?"   Now, if you know Melissa, you know what I mean when I say that I got the look.  It's not a bad look (I don't think she could ever look bad... Did you catch that sucking up, Melissa?!), but it's just a look that says What in the heck are you talking about?!  She said to me, "You didn't do anything wrong.  They've been doing this for 9 months.  You'll get there."

I took that little bit of information and stored that away for later use in my mental "Remember This When You Think You are Failing" file.  I guess my point is this: you have to realize where you are now to appreciate where you started. 

I'll get there.  You'll get there.  It didn't take 5 months to put the weight on, so it sure as heck isn't going to take 5 months to get the weight off.  Whether your goal is 10lbs or 100lbs (or more), one small accomplishment is just that, an accomplishment.  It's something you can say you were able to do that you couldn't yesterday.

Savor it.