I’m sure you all recall my foray into the Master Cleanse… and I was pretty dang diligent about updating because I actually followed through and had stuff to say! Well, unfortunately I crapped out on the Couch to 5k program right before my vacay, and I apparently don’t have the discipline to stick with an exercise program while traveling. Side note: that may have been the first time I’ve ever spelled exercise correctly on the first try.

Anyway, I am committed to completing it! I am not giving up and am planning attempt #2 starting tomorrow. I really want to participate in the Mayor’s Marathon and I think I still have time to make it happen, but now I have a heck of a lot less wiggle room. It will be harder because there isn’t an actual 5k in the MM, but a 5 miler, but even if I have to walk the last 1.8 miles, my time will still be enormously better than what it would have been had I not trained for the 5k.

Ok, well I better get some rest so I don’t talk myself out of being mildly athletic tomorrow!

• I have been able to increase my pace of both the brisk walk and the “run” (I use the term run very lightly, I’d rather call it an uninspired jog at this point). I am up to 3.0 mph for my brisk walk and 4.1-4.4 mph for my ummm… jog
• I averaged about 1.35-1.6 miles in distance. The distance obviously increased as my speed did
• You should always go pee BEFORE you run (no horror story, just a very uncomfortable run that was very difficult to talk myself out of quitting so I could jet to the potty… but I made it through)
• I need to remember to lace my shoes tighter
• My butt and thighs make a gross “slosh slosh slosh” feeling as I run. I am really hoping this diminishes as the weeks go by. I was spoiled on the elliptical and didn’t have to feel the fat jiggle as there was no real “impact” to speak of
• Bill O’Reilly sounds even stupider in subtitles on the big TV in front of all the workout machines. Fox News? Really, Power House Gym? REALLY?
• I like it when the guy on my podcast tells me I’m doing a good job

All in all, the program is really cool so far, and I have yet to have a day that I was feeling particularly sore. After the first day I was a tad tense, but not sore at all. I am very proud of myself for sticking through week one, and I even went to the gym on an off day and hit up the elliptical (old habits die hard).

It was really inspiring to read all the comments of other people who are trying this program also, or have done it in the past. PLEASE comment or email me if you post about it! I’ve been trying to read on everyone’s blogs but I am not the best about that so feel free to drop me a note if you write about your experiences because I’m dying to hear how everyone does!!

Maybe only my parents and my husband know me well enough to know that follow through isn’t one of my strong points. I am one hell of a starter, and not so much of a finisher. I blame the things I start- they are just not cool enough to hold my attention. Really though, this is kind of a personal paradox, as I am about as tenacious as a badger, and when I put my mind do something it’s as good as done. I guess I just don’t really put my mind to much.

I really surprised myself when I finished the master cleanse. No really, like REALLY surprised. I had completely talked myself out of it on no less than seven occasions and the only thing that kept me plugging along was B telling me that he was super proud of me and that I would hate myself if I didn’t finish what I started. Blogging probably helped too, because I couldn’t bear the shame of signing into wordpress with my tail between my legs and telling all my dear readers that I had quit.

ANYHOO… this brings me to personal experiment 2.0….

When I had arm definition and no back fat, I was a regular little workout bunny. B was in to weight lifting and I cherished the hour+ that me and the elliptical machine spent together every morning. I could wear jeans that were 100% cotton (not 98% cotton 2% spandex) and actually got hit on at the gym from time to time. Exercise was part of my daily routine and I didn’t think twice about it. Here I am at least 20 pounds heavier, grumpier and with very stretchy jeans. I know what the problem is, I just haven’t been motivated to do anything about it. I don’t know what did it in particular…  maybe nothing. Maybe it was the combination of my Groundhog’s Day resolutions, my jeans not fitting, and one day just going on autopilot and driving to the gym, but I have gone every day since Sunday.

So here I am at day three of working out and I am already feeling better. I didn’t want to post anything because I did not want to be one of those fitness evangelists that blogs about nothing but working out and how my workouts went and how many sets of reps of whatever blah blah blah. Booor-ing. If this was an exercise blog that would be one thing, but it’s not. Well, I guess it’s MY blog so I can talk about whatever I want, but you get my point.

Back to the experiment part. I decided to try out the “Couch to 5k” program that I’ve been hearing about for years. Basically this is an interval training program made to take you from being a totally sedentary couch potato (read: me) to running a 5k (just over three miles) in nine weeks. Well, I am a sucker for a personal experiment, so I figured I’d give it a go. Naturally I’ll chronicle my (mis)adventures here, but I’ll try to keep it interesting. I tried it in 2004-ish but was unsuccessful. I had the routine scribbled on sticky note and it was difficult to follow when timing myself. Now that there is this glorious thing called the PODCAST, this running program is something I can work with. I found a site that has podcasts with some up-tempo music and a guy that tells you when you should change your pace and what you should do. So far I’ve ran with it twice and it’s actually really easy. The 30 minutes flew by, and I felt like a million bucks afterward. I’m not even sore!

Of course I want to up the ante a little and make it interesting. The Mayor’s Marathon is in June and there is a little Five Miler I’m thinking about signing up for. I am going to hold off on registering until a little later- not because I don’t think I will do it… but I’m toying around with the idea of doing the half marathon. Insane in the membrane, right?! I KNOW! But really, if I train from now until June 20th, I think I might actually be able to do it, and not finish dead last. Considering that some people walk the entire thing, I don’t think finishing dead last would happen (but obviously that is my fear). Ha.

Has anyone out there in bloggyland tried the Couch to 5k thing? How’d you like it? Anyone else want to do it with me?? I’m only in week one… there’s still time to join me! :D