Fiercely Confident

It should be socially acceptable to do the Whip Nae Nae  while running at the gym, right?! At least, that's what I secretly wanted to do today. 

"Ooh watch me, watch me. Ooh watch me, watch me."

In my head, I was singing when a fellow runner dressed in a black hoodie decided to join me on the next treadmill. It caught me off guard because I was in my zone. And what he didn't know was that he had become my competition.

 

Shhh! Don't tell anybody. I secretly compete with my fellow runners to see if I can outlast them. Bahahahahha! I've done it before too. There was this one time, this "young thing" teenager decided to run beside me in her shorty shorts. And I was over there like,"Oh yah, well I may not be able to-or want to for that matter- wear those shorty shorts. But girl, I've birthed three children and that means I can outlast you running."

I know! I know! It sounds horrible. But as you are reading this, you secretly want to know if I outran her. And I'm here to say,"Yes. I. Did!"

But in all honesty, I am really really enjoying running again. You all know I did the stair elliptical machine 'til I was 36 weeks pregnant and then took a short break after having Tiny. I thought it would affect my endurance because I stopped, but it didn't!

About a month ago, I told myself it was time to try again. I said I'd just run 5 minutes. Well I felt so good, I ended up running 10. And since then, I've increased. But today, I ran 30 minutes without stopping! Woohoo! My confidence was on fire. Which brings to my final thoughts.

Running for me is so cathartic. It makes me feel good about myself-something I've never been good at. But it's the act of accomplishing something incredibly hard that makes me say,"Wow! Ooh watch me, watch me!"

I looked at my treadmill accomplishments and said, "Yah, I could blog those numbers but it don't really mean a thing." What really is important is that I believe in me. No longer does my treadmill subconsciously say that awful F word "Fat." You see, now my treadmill says that beautiful F word, Fiercely Confident. And to beat it all, I know that's what makes a woman beautiful. Not what size clothes she wears, the number on the scale or even what her husband thinks of her. What makes a woman beautiful is being Fiercely Confident in herself.

Have you looked up the word fiercely lately? One definition is "showing a heartfelt and powerful intensity." Are you intensely confident in yourself? Do your kids know you think you are great in every way? What about your husband? Confidence can be sexier than your body, you know. What does your treadmill say? 

And finally, I know you want to know. Did I outrun the guy in the black hoodie? You guess?

As I'm mindfully singing,"You already know what it is. Now watch me whip, watch me nae nae," he pressed stop on his treadmill and I Kept. On. Going- Secretly smiling because I had beat my competition :).

Using Running to Control Emotions

I walked into the gym, dropped off the kids and felt READY to burn some energy. My emotions were high but honestly I didn't know why. I'm guessing it was hormone related. If you're a woman, I'm sure you can totally agree with me that sometimes you just feel ready to bite someone's head off and whoever crosses your path first will be the unfortunate victim! I knew I was a mess and I also knew the only way to fix this was to...RUN. Running can be the best counseling session for me. I turn up the music and pound it out.

What do you know? One of my favorite songs began playing on Pandora's Pop and Hip Hop Workout Station: Timber by Kesha and Pitbull.

Kesha was singing, "It's going down, I'm yelling timber. You better move, you better dance." And that was all I needed to kick it into high gear...turning up the treadmill speed along with the volume on my phone, I began zoning out (something that always seems to happen when I run).

I was breathing hard and the negative kept saying, "Just stop now. This is too hard for you."

But I fought back. "No, I need this! I need to get through what's bothering me."

I was having a conversation with myself now. Fighting through the initial pain of running, I said, "But what's really bothering you? I don't know. Yes, you do know, Kim. It's all those little afflictions you've been pushing down lately. It's all those little things that's gonna make you pop!"

I looked down at the treadmill and realized that 10 minutes had come and gone, just like that. A lady beside me was facebooking and walking at 1 mph on her treadmill.

"BRINNNGGGGGGGGGG" went her annoying phone. And then she started talking to someone in a foreign language loudly!

"Really!!!!!" I thought. She was breaking my concentration. Little did she know that she was in my territory and I had pegged her as my next victim.

"Stop, Kim! Forget her. Just run." And that's when Evacuate the Dance Floor by Cascada began playing. I turned the music up even louder so as not to hear her irritating conversation.

Ironically, these are the very lyrics I heard, "Turn up the music, lets get out on the floor. I like to move it, come and give me some more." And that's when I zoned out again.

You know, running means so much more to me now than it did when I was in high school. In high school, I would run for weight loss. But now, I run for health and vitality. Vitality- that's a big word for me! I never realized that vitality meant to be strong and active.  I suppose people would never believe by looking at me that I could run 30 minutes without stopping. But I can! And I feel so accomplished because of it. I do feel strong and so alive. Now I run to feel better, to hold my head higher with confidence and to counsel myself.

Growing up southern, you learn that to be a woman means to be strong. Hardships will come but you suck it up and find a solution to the problems. I can remember as a little girl going into Wal-Mart with MML and hanging my head down because I thought people would make fun of me for wearing sweatpants.

One day, MML looked at me and said sternly, "You will hold your head up Kim and stick your chin in the air. We don't care what people think about us." Her words really meant something to me then and even now.

And as I was finishing up my run all the anger seemed to pump right out of my chest, through my fingers and out my toes. It was a surreal experience. I heard myself saying, "You've got this! Keep going!!! Suck it up...just a little bit more." Inwardly, I was cheering myself on. "Five minutes Kim, just five more minutes. Keep your head in the air, stick your chin out! Come on!"

"You Did It!!!!!" my subconscious was roaring at me now. I was cheering myself on and feeling totally alive!

The running was so cathartic for me that I'm embarrassed to say this, but I almost cried. I am a highly emotional person but I sucked it up and held it in. It was everything that I needed in that day. It was everything I needed in that week. Running had helped me get it all out. I know it sounds weird reading this but for me, it brought up everything I needed to confront. Let's face it; we all need to confront a whole lot of garbage in our lives. We all need to run it out.

And as I slowed my pace to cool down, no joke this song began playing. It was as if God said, "I heard everything you were saying. I felt everything in your heart and oh how I love you." Look at these lyrics.

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.

When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

 And oh, how He loves us, oh,
Oh, how He loves us,
How He loves us all

 

What stood out to me was the line, "I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory." You see, the mighty power of God is like an eclipse. It covers any type of personal affliction we may have, so that we are totally unaware of any problems we may be facing. That's how strong and mighty our God is! 

So friends, whatever afflictions you might be facing, The Lord wants you to know that if you believe in His power and strength, anything you may be facing can be resolved. Any issue you might be having needs to be brought to the feet of God and...left. Yes, I said left! Let it go! Easier said than done right? One of the hardest things to do is to release control. But when you do, God will take your problem and turn them into solutions. In the meantime, harness all the emotions you were born with by running them out and setting them free. Let all the frustration, anxiety, anger, hurt and depression just slip through your fingers. God's got this. I promise!

Letting Go of the Mind Chatter

It's the Monday after Thanksgiving and I'm sitting here with a cup of coffee typing bleary eyed. I was up til 1 am last night staring at the ceiling. This seems to happen to me everytime I stop running. My anxiety goes up and I sit in bed for hours tossing and turning. I've come to realize this is just a part of me that I have little control over--unless I run. But to update everyone, my doctor has ruled that I stop running because I started having Braxton Hicks contractions at 16 weeks. She told me there was no way to stop labor at this point, so I needed to recognize when the contractions were happening and make myself lie down and relax. RELAX? To me that's a foreign word sometimes. In my mind I was thinking, "How do I relax when the only thing that was working was running?"



Kathy Worley, Certified Massage Therapist

That next week, I asked The Hubs if he minded watching Baby Girl while I received a massage. Of course, he didn't mind at all. So I called up one of the best--nope I'd say the very best massage therapist I've found since moving here, Kathy Worley. She's so amazing at her job and really understands stress and where it hides in a person's body. For years, I have enjoyed massage but I'd say in the last two years I have really gotten into massage geared towards health and not so much fluff. Fluff? You probably don't understand what I'm talking about. Well, you can go to any commercialized chain spa and receive a very relaxing massage. But usually, it's so light that when you come out you feel the same tension you started with. Basically, it did no good. Massage geared towards health says, "I have a problem and I need the kinks worked out." For me, when the neck pain begins and it radiates down my back and up my head, I know I'm way overdo for a massage. So anyway, it had been 6 months since I received a massage (too long really)! Kathy Worley, my massage therapist was amazing. She worked the knots out of my back and neck for an entire hour and a half! As she was talking she pressed on my back and said, "I notice every time you exhale you relax a little more." She said, "That's really good because you don't fight it. You really are looking for peace. Alot of people fight it." She was exactly right! I do want peace and seem to be on a constant search for it. But what I told her is that it doesn't come easy and I have to constantly work on it. Kathy is so intune with people. You can sense her spirit is good and because of that, she is great at her job. Click here if you're interested in learning more about her.

So I thought about enrolling in prenatal yoga classes but when I saw the prices, I realized paying that bill would send me into anxiety overload. I've thought about just walking (which I probably will do on my own) but I just hate thinking about taking my daughter out there in the freezing cold. One thing I know for sure, I have to get rid of the mind chatter.  I have to learn to turn my brain off? And quit listening to that little "Anxiety Voice" in my head that says, "What will I do?" I've been doing some research and found a great article about this very thing from Sandra Hersey.

She says, "To stop your Mind Chatter, you need to learn how to stop your subconscious mind’s habit of “running off at the mouth,” so to speak. You have to first recognize that you have mind chatter happening. You need to pay attention to your mind chatter and what it is saying. If your mind chatter is negative and using words like I can’t, I should, or what will I do, then you need to stop the voice going on inside your head immediately. Change your thought process. Begin to get control of your subconscious mind by thinking, I’m okay, I can handle this; even start saying some positive affirmations like “I can figure out how to make this work,” or “I am smart and successful.” Click here for her full article.

Yes, this is exactly what I needed to start with! I remembered learning about this in my counseling classes. The one thing I can control is my mind chatter. But I also know from personal experience this is a daily process. If you are one who is naturally anxious about everything, you have to make the conscious decision to live each day in a positive light.

So a few other things I plan on trying and blogging about is...

1. Buy a Prenatal Yoga  DVD to try at home.
2. Make myself walk twice a week.
3. Spend more time in the Bible and talking to God.
4. Change my eating habits (atleast til I can run again). I want to try to eliminate some of the soda and refined sugar that I eat and drink. I know I can't eliminate it completely but I do know when I drink or eat it, I become very sluggish and tired.
5. Spend some quiet time each day by myself. Turning off the mind chatter and listening to the quiet sound of nothing. Basically meditating.

I'm not gonna do all these things at once but I want to try a little at a time. So here goes! Wish me luck and keep reading : )

Yes, My Doctor Says It's Okay To Run

Riddle me this. Who/What grows a human being, pushes a 35 pound stroller and a 25 pound baby all while RUNNING? That would be me. AKA: Super Momma ; ) Now that I have made it to 13 weeks and feeling great, I decided to ask my doctor, if she thought it was safe if I tried running again? She said it wouldn't harm the baby at all and to give it a try. But don't push myself to hard. She said my body might naturally make me quit running by 20 weeks. So I did my internet research and found out that running can actually help out during pregnancy, it helps you maintain a healthy pregnancy weight and gives you the endurance to take labor/delivery later on.

So for all my running blog followers out there, I haven't quit! I just took a break. I lost all energy at about six weeks pregnant (that would be my last running blog you read) and just now have begun to get it back. I'm finally over the hurdle of wanting to throw up all the time. So for the last seven weeks, I haven't exercised at all : ( I knew I had lost some of the endurance I had gained, so I decided to take it slow.

Today, I am proud to say I ran 10 minutes! Not all at the same time but I ran two minutes and then walked four (repeat 5 times). So total exercise time was 34 minutes! I listened to my body and as soon as I started to get out of breath, I stopped. This was probably the best move I could have made. Now I have to think about the health of the new baby as well.  Baby Girl and I stayed hydrated too! We stopped at a park midway and had our Capri Sun's together : ) She swang on the swing and I rested...another good pregnancy move I'd say.

This pretty much sums it up ; )

I can't promise you I'm gonna run the whole pregnancy but I do want to try. It makes me feel good about myself. And that seven weeks of no exercise at all meant no sleep at all for me. I just don't sleep good if I don't exercise. My anxiety level goes up, my frustration level goes up and I get more exhausted if I don't run. So running to me is a health benefit.

I have found that during my pregnancies, this is the time I feel most beautiful about myself. But I also feel bloated, chipmunk cheeky, and in the end--a beached whale : ) So maybe running will help me keep my confidence up while still feeling extra beautiful. Wish me luck and keep reading!

Running Past It All!

I shut the back door and immediately notice it's dusk. "Where has the day gone," I ask myself. I walk down the sidewalk and turn on the IPOD and stopwatch. It's delightly cool outside. I feel different--wait a minute. No baby...The Hubs is watching her. The song, "Set Fire to the Rain" begins playing and I'm attentively listening to the first lyrics, "I let it fall, my heart and as it fell you rose to claim it." I think about being exhausted and how I really don't want to do this. But I do it for me...I do it to feel like a person again.

My three minutes of warm up is over. It's time to run and I switch the music to something peppy. Flo Rida is singing about a "Good Feeling." The music makes me want to run faster. I'm breathing hard. My chest hurts. But I tell myself, "You'll feel better after this first run." I begin to pass people on the sidewalk. It's surprisingly motivating. Runners everywhere. It really is a good feeling to see so many people enjoying the evening the same way I do. I'm reminded of being a kid when I run. Good memories flood my mind about playing tag outside with my dad as a little girl. I look down and my four minutes is over. I can walk now.

As I catch my breath, negative thoughts cloud my thinking. Satan has a way of doing that to me. The negative thoughts say, "Why are you doing this? The scale shows no change. You've worked hard enough today...just walk the rest of the way." But I fight back with myself and say, "The scale hasn't changed but you haven't gained back any of the inches you've lost. You feel good when you run. It empowers you. Just try once more." And so I begin running again.

The song, "Faster" comes on and I think about how beautiful the lyrics are...

                                                  "You make my heart beat faster."

Now, I'm running downhill past my insecurities. I'm running past the negative thoughts. With every step I take, I'm thinking about how far I've come. From not being able to run at all in June to 17 minutes total now! I've cut down on my resting period. My heart is getting stronger. I look down at the stopwatch...a minute and a half. I can handle this. My running is for me, you know. Not for anyone else. I'm running past the fear of judgement. I'm running past the stress, the worries, I'm running past it all. And it feels so good. This. Is. Mine. I'm not running for a man. I'm not running to be a size 5. I'm running to be ME.

It's time to walk now. I look up and the moon has just peaked through the clouds. So many cars have passed me...I really like living where there are sidewalks to run on. I notice how my legs feel stronger now and how it doesn't hurt as much as it did the first time. Sweat is pouring down my face. Maroon 5 is singing, "Moves Like Jagger" and they're telling me to shoot for the stars. I think about how blessed I am. My Baby Girl is here (through months of infertility she finally made her presence)! I think about how I would do it all over again. The stress of not knowing if I could have a baby, the medication...I would do it all over just to know she was in our lives. Then my thoughts travel to being a woman and not a kid anymore. I tell myself, "Your almost 28. You bare the scars of being a mom. You will never be the same. You need to think about how powerful you are as a woman. Get rid of those thoughts that tell you you're not good enough. Be confident in the way you look...be confident in the way you feel."

"I AM," I tell myself. "I am worthy. I matter." And the song "Good Life" begins playing. This is my final run. I notice how I hold my shoulders back and my head up when I run. It's a confident feeling...a good feeling. And I think about how this really is "The Good Life."

"Oh, this has gotta be the good life

This could really be a good life."

And it really could be a good life. If we (women) didn't put so much pressure on ourselves. If we said, "To heck with society! I'm going to be comfortable with myself. I'm going to be proud of who I am. I'M GOING TO ENJOY THIS GOOD LIFE"! We would be so much happier if we just ran past all our insecurites, all our fears, all our doubts. If we just kept running everytime a negative thought would knock us down, I guarentee you...we would find ourselves running into the arms of the one that loves us the most--God!

So my challenge for myself and for you is to put the headphones on, crank up the music, and run. Whatever it is...just do it for you and no one else. And tell yourself over and over, "I am more than this. I am worth it."

“Many women do noble things,
    but you surpass them all.”
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:29-30

MUST I REALLY EAT VEGETABLES...

So about two weeks ago, The Hubs and I went on vacation together to DC. It was one of the best vacations I've ever taken. I have to admit, I was a little worried about keeping up my exercise on vacation. But I did manage to run twice at the hotel gym. Apparently DC is huge...I never got that memo. We walked EVERYWHERE and definitely burned some calories doing that.

The next week, we had to go to Balitmore (The Hubs was on a business trip)  and no exercise for me at all. It was an interesting week. The Hubs was working all the time and I couldn't just go to the hotel gym with a baby. So nothing more to say there...last week suuuuucked.

This week I've tried to run twice and both times quit early because I just didn't have any energy. But I pushed myself through it and ran 8 minutes the first time and 6 minutes the second time. I know I know... NOT what I've usually done in the past. But I tried to make it count and walk extra long. I think the lack of energy has more to do with my own thoughts kicking me down. I'm notorious for worrying about everything. And yes ladies, I did stoop to that "regrettable" low I tried so hard to resist... I got on the scale and got majorly discouraged with the number. I kept saying to myself, "What's the point of me running if nothing's happening?!" I know that's a terrible attitude to have but might as well be honest with you all (pretty sure there's someone out there who feels exactly like I do).

On a positive note, I did meet with my "Personal Trainer" friend. Ironically, she wanted to meet at a restaurant. I was on the phone with my sister right before I went out that night and told her that I was going to a restaurant with a personal trainer to discuss my eating habits. She laughed and said, "I don't know if a restaurant is the best place to go." Talk about total anxiety with the menu choices : )

But anyway, back to my friend Kristin Weber (the Personal Trainer)...she was awesome. I brought along some food diary entries I've logged from www.myfitnesspal.com and she immediatley found my areas of weakness and gave me good alternatives to try. For instance, I like to make a "diety" version of french toast in the morning and she caught on that I wasn't consuming any protein in the morning. So instead she told me that with every meal I need to have one protein, one fat, and one carb. So...this morning I had one piece of toast with peanut butter on it. I think peanut butter counts as a protein and fat ; ) Did I mention I have a  LOVE AFFAIR with Peter Pan Honey Roasted Creamy Peanut Butter? PB Addiction runs in the family : ) Then she brought up the good point that I don't consume alot of fruits and vegetables. So a good rule of thumb is to have one fruit or vegetable with every meal and try to get at least two vegetables at dinner (ultimate goal is 5-6 fruits or vegetables/day). So...this morning I paired a plum with the toast (I made it a small fruit...because for some reason I just don't like thinking about eating an entire apple in the morning...is that cheating?) Kristin was awesome and gave great advice...I definitely recommend her to anyone out there looking for a personal trainer/diet coach.

So to recap, "Tomorrow is always fresh...with no mistakes in it." I will try try again. I will try not to get discouraged with the scale and I will FORCE myself to eat a fruit or vegetable with every meal (haha!)



So Long Carbs...Hello Confidence!

Do you know what is MOST disturbing when trying to run? The smell of bacon frying outside someone’s house! It’s not that I want to eat it—it’s just the fact that hot humid days mixed with fried bacon and running is a nasty combo that makes me want to hurl…

Yes, I’m still at it! But I’ve ventured off into my own running plan. The website plan wanted me to stop/ start five times. I lacked that little bit of motivation towards the end of my run.  So I decided instead of stop/start five times, I’d run 4 minutes/walk 4 minutes (repeat three more times). After running two cycles, I think, “Okay I only have to do this two more times.” And then when I get to the third time I’m thinking, “Okay, you’re at the finish line-you can do this ONCE more. And finally, when I’ve completed my final run I’m thinking, “Oh thank God it’s OVER! I don’t know how I could have done THAT one more time!”

What most women would like to eat everyday all the time!

I’m pleased beyond words with how I feel. I now, can’t remember the last time I woke up in the middle of the night because I couldn’t sleep. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I’m out.  And my whole outlook on life is changing. My mentality has changed to “calm and relaxed” instead of stressing over "every little tiny thing". It’s amazing how all your hormones seem to balance out when you exercise.

I can’t say enough about supportive friendships. A friend of mine is going to help me figure out why I’m losing inches but not pounds. She’s a personal trainer and has recommended I start myfitnesspal.com. I can already tell you what my problem is… What female doesn’t love some good ole’ CARBS?! I could live on cereal, macaroni & cheese, and brownies with no complaints at all. But we all know that's NOT the way to go!

Haha, had to post this because this is EXACTLY how I feel!

And I have another friend who suggested we should run together. She’s a very advanced runner. When I start to think about us running together my mind gets dizzy… I picture myself running 30 feet behind her with sweat drenching down my back and wheezing loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear : ) She’s also put the possible idea of a 5K in my head. I say possible, because at this point running a 5K freaks me out. The support has really motivated me and running has been so beneficial. However, it’s clear I lack confidence in my ability. And I definitely want Baby Girl to see her momma as a confident woman. So the best way to teach her is to model good behavior…it’s time for me to begin accepting everything about me as good and work on my weaknesses with my head held high.

Progress Update: 

• Running 4 minutes/walk 4 minutes (repeat 3 more times) totally 16 minutes running now!
• Lost 7 inches total!
• No weight change…
• Feeling Stress Free!
• Sleeping Through the Night!
• No Headaches!
• No Shoulder Tension!
• New Goal… Work on Confidence.

P.S.

This verse just popped into my head right before I hit "Publish" blog and I had to include it.

Hebrews 12:1-2a

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith...

Isn't that wonderful! As you run your race in life, strip off all the baggage that's slowing you down. Get rid of all that negative stuff that's tripping you up. God wants you to run this race just as you are...he is pefecting your faith in Him. Run it to the finish line always telling yourself, "I can do this ONCE more!"

Running "Feel Good" Changes and a Little Park Time

So I’ve been meaning to update everyone on the running program but with this terrible heat wave it has been near impossible to run.  However, I stuck through it for another two weeks and have noticed some pretty major changes.

Woohoo! My knees are getting stronger. Thank God because it was pretty painful to start out with. My brother (a physically fit army guy) told me that I shouldn’t run on concrete if I don’t want my knees to hurt. But I don’t have any other option when I push a stroller and live in an area with a  sea of concrete. So I’m stretching and only running three days a week now. Hopefully, I will be able to add another day soon.

Secondly, I do sleep through the night when I run now. I’m just so wore out from out from doing all that activity… and of course chasing around a one year old all day long exhausts me too : )

Other little changes that I notice are that I seem to feel calmer and more relaxed. My clothes are starting to feel looser too. Last week I measured myself and had lost three inches...but again, the major “feel good” changes are what I’m putting more emphasis on.

 The best news of all is that I can run three minutes without stopping! I do this four times…making that a grand total of 12 minutes running! I am very pleased with my progress. I never thought that after having a kid I could do that again. I feel so much stronger and more confident in myself.  So isn’t that a much healthier goal than worrying about my image? I’m taking charge and feeling great doing it.



My mother and I posing with Baby Girl after the run.



Taking a break to play at a park.









Baby Girl was so excited to play at the park midway through the run!





Papow pushing Sleeping Baby Girl in the stroller.















We're Going Back to an Old Past Time...Running!

You probably wouldn’t believe this if I told you but my husband and I ran cross country in high school; you know like miles and miles of running. Over the years, we quit running and now we don’t exercise at all. I have noticed that I feel more stressed, become exhausted more easily, and often wake up at 2 am, because I can’t sleep.So I decided that I wanted to get healthy by running again and I asked my husband to join me.  He agreed that it would be great idea.

Now that I am 27 my goals have changed. I didn’t want my running to be about body image. I wanted it to be about feeling better.  I wanted it to be about appreciating who I was, a woman and a mom, and not about the number on the scale.  If I focused on body image and had a bad week, then it would upset me and I would probably quit exercising.  So I made my goal to be about feeling better and accomplishing something great. So far I’ve made it 4 weeks. Here’s what happened...

Trial Run Week: I took off running with no plan at all. My heart was pounding and I couldn’t breathe. I went as far as I could and had to stop VERY early. My breathing was so intense you would have thought I had run a marathon. Later that day, I took the car out to measure how far I went…0.3 miles!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! I was so disapointed with myself. That’s when I decided that I needed to find a plan for beginner runners. So I googled  “beginner running plans” and found one that could work for me.  It’s a 12 step program that starts you out walking 30 minutes and in 12 weeks or more you’re running 30 minutes.

Week 1: My first week went fine…obviously it was just walking. I noticed that walking in the evening seemed to relax me.

Week 2:  I was nervous to start because this was the week I had to run. The plan called for me to run 1 minute and walk 4 minutes (repeat 4 more times).  Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad! I felt very proud of myself and all in all, I had run 5 minutes--the most ever since high school. The plan didn't want you to move to the next level until you could easily do this four times a week. So I had to stay on Week 2 for another week. I couldn’t believe how much better I felt. I slept through the night without waking up and didn't felt that tension I usually carry in my shoulders. It’s amazing how only 5 minutes of running can make you feel better. Another great bonus is that it has made my husband and I grower closer together. Since that's how our relationship started, it's like we picked up right where we left off. We talk during our run/walks and joke along the way. It's good for couples to share a past time together.

Week 3: This week we're running 2 minutes and walking 4 minutes (repeat 4 times) and end with a 3 minute cool down. I’ll let you know if I meet my goal this week and how I feel afterwards. Wish Me Luck!

Here is the plan I chose. Even though it is a running guide for weight loss, this is not my goal. My goal is to feel better about myself and use my running time to relieve stress. Try it out…it’s a very easy plan to start: 12 Step Beginner Running Program