Couch Potato to Athlete in 1 Year

I'm On a Roll!

guest — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 01:50:00 GMT

I almost skipped my workout today. I know, it's only my second day... I had to pick my mom up from the airport, but her flight was delayed, which meant that I was out of excuses. So, I decided to cycle today. On the spur of the moment I decided to cycle five miles - however long it took. It took longer than I expected - 24 minutes. But, I did it. I almost stopped at three miles, out of laziness but stuck it out.

My legs are slightly sore from yesterday's run. Tomorrow's goal is to swim 30 laps of backstroke (I need to watch my "freestyle made easy DVD again because freestyle is my real challenge).

Horray!

guest — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 19:58:00 GMT

Maybe I'm not in as bad of shape as I thought? I got on the treadmill yesterday, expecting to alternately run/walk one tenth of a mile until I had completed a mile. I thought it would take about three weeks to work my way up to running a mile. But... I got to two tenths of a mile and thought I could keep going. So I did. All the way to one mile! Just call me the Energizer Bunny - thank you!

Of course it took me 15 minutes to run that mile, which isn't fabulous, but heck I ran a mile! I haven't done that since my school days and I am sooooooooooooooooooooo proud of myself. Part of my motivation to keep running was that I told myself I could quit as soon as I hit a mile and if I did it faster than my normal 20 minutes of cardio, then I didn't have to do the full 20 minutes. I'm not big on exercise - but hopefully that will be changing as I acomplish more and more goals.

On my way to gym, I had decided that I could have a new pair of running shoes when I ran a mile. Since it was so easily accomplished, I'm going to make it my prize for running two miles, which really will take me a while to acheive.

The First Day of the Rest of My Life

guest — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:00:00 GMT

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. This couch potato is getting off her butt is becoming an athlete. I've always admired athletes but never considered that I could be one. I used to be so thin and week that any amount of exercise would result an instant headache and several pounds of weight loss.

Until my baby was born. That took me for a surprise. I assumed I'd be like my mother and go from a 18 inch waist to an 19 inch waste postpartum. Not... In reality, I became very sick with an autoimmune problem related to the pregnancy. I've been on chemotherapy, steroids and anti-inflammatory drugs for the past year and a half. I'm a lot better, but still need about 12 hours of sleep each night and am easily exhausted.

I don't want my life to continue this way. I want the health, stamina, and fitness of an athlete. My ultimate goal is to participate in a Sprint Triathlon. The only way to get there is to do it one step at a time. I'm seriously out of shape, so my first goal is to run one mile on the tread mill. When I've reached that goal, I'll see another one on the way to becoming a triathlete!