Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The Happiest Race on Earth

My whole 28 years, I've hated exercise. I've tried everything in the book, but have never been able to find a way to enjoy it. No matter what, it was an aversive chore that I dreaded, and virtually always opted to do anything else instead. A lifetime of that attitude and behavior has made me pretty unhappy with myself in a lot of ways, especially in the last 5 or 10 years. And after a lifetime of searching, I'm so happy to say that I've finally found that magic match that gets me off the couch and moving.

Against all odds, I am now a runner.

This year, I'm training my body and my mind for the Walt Disney World Wine & Dine Half Marathon. There is absolutely nothing more ideal in the world than a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth, combined with a celebration of food and wine, to motivate the pants off of me.

I've started with the Couch to 5k program, designed to train people who have never run before, taking very baby steps since I've never done this before. I've surprised myself with how much I'm enjoying it, and I know that the structured, approachable nature of the program is what keeps me coming back 3 times per week.

I've already had some health and physical challenges, but I'm overcoming them with the help of my physical therapist. And of course, none of this would be any fun without my training partner and husband, Andy, who has far more faith in me than I have in myself at this point.

I'm so excited for the physical, mental, emotional, and social changes that are about to happen in my life because of my new hobby. I'm also looking forward to documenting my progression here. I considered keeping a private journal for myself so I can look back later and see how far I've come, but who am I kidding? Blogging is so much more fun!

3 comments:

  1. I love that you two are doing it together and can push each other along the way! I've tried asking my husband to do something like that with me, but he is much more of an elliptical fan... and we only own one elliptical, so it's not something we can do "together". I really look forward to reading about your progress!

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  2. Yay! I ran my first half with my husband, too. Although there was no food and wine celebration at the end. You can do this!

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  3. i've been reading your "playing house" blog for about a year now and LOVE it, then saw that you were writing this one and I got very excited. I've been in med school for 2 years and have been working out 'on and off' but haven't had enough time to get a continuous flow going. I have 4 months off to study for part 1 of my boards so when I saw the 'couch to 5k' (which I've been referring to it as 'cubicle to 5k') haha I got very motivated. I'm half way through week 2 and it's been great, so THANK YOU. keep up the good work!!

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