Couch To 5K....the Beginning

I started the Couch to 5K program this morning. I snagged the free app for my iPhone, dropped the treadmill down, and set to work. I'd like to say that I enjoyed it, but let's get real. It's exercise. I may be brash and uncouth, but I do NOT like to sweat...unless it involves working in my garden in the sunshine. The point, however, is not to enjoy the exercise, but to force myself to do it because it is necessary for my health. Hopefully I can keep to that fact until the time comes that I DO enjoy it.

I've mentioned before that I totally suck at taking care of myself. I acknowledge this. I'm not talking about the way I eat...I'm not too shabby in that department. Sure I have a weakness for Krispy Kremes, but I only give in to that weakness 5-6 times a year. I've been a vegetarian for over a year now, so my diet consists mainly of vegetables and fruits and I always choose whole or multi grain products. I'm talking about taking care of my body, my skin, my hair, my nails, my psyche. Those are what I put on the back burner. Then I find myself sitting like a blob, feeling depressed, wondering why I'm not happy with myself. Publicly admitting this huge flaw is my way of forcing myself to do something about it. I'm constantly nagging the youngest kiddo to exercise...while I'm sitting on the couch. Huh? Yeah, like that's  going to work.

So, Week 1 Day 1. I started out with a 5 minute warm-up at 3MPH. Brisk for a beginner, a snail's pace for someone fit. The workout is spread into eight 60 second jogging segments, and seven 90 second walking segments. I got through the first 2 jogs at 4.5MPH, but felt like I was about to die when it got to the third. I dropped to 4.3MPH for it, then 4MPH for the last four. Not athlete quality, but I got through it and I was PROUD of myself! The walking segments I maintained at 3MPH. The 5 minute cool down was 2 1/2 minutes at 2.5MPH and 2 1/2 minutes at 2MPH. At the half-way point I really doubted that I was going to make it through. I found myself thinking, "It's okay to just walk through the next jogging segment." That brought my up short. What. The. Hell?! I have NEVER been a quitter. As a matter of fact I've always been quite happy to prove anyone who said I couldn't do something wrong. Yet, there I am, telling myself to go ahead and quit. SCREW THAT! I pushed myself through. Reducing speed, yes, but still jogging...and you know what? That feeling of defeat left. When I got to jogging segment 6 of 8 I told myself I could do it. By the next to the last segment I believed I could do it. When the final jogging segment ended? I always knew I would do it. I felt great! Sweaty, yet accomplished. Exhausted, yet exhilarated. Shaky, yet standing strong.

The program is just 3 days a week, so I'm off until Tuesday. I'll spend tomorrow telling myself that I. Did. This. Because I did, and I need to focus on that in order to force myself to continue doing it.