From super lazy to....sore

I've decided that the only way for me to really get up and go, was to have a goal. So, on September 26, 2010 I will be *hopefully* running a 5k, I say hopefully just because I want to run the entire race. I've already received some support from this, my boyfriend is signing up right along with me and my mom was pretty excited for me. Now that I have people counting on me, maybe this will push me in the right direction. I wouldn't only let myself down, but others around me, and I think that will push me to do this.

Day 1 was yesterday. I did 25 minutes on the elliptical. I have to let it be known that if I were reading this about a year ago I'd be laughing at myself saying that I nearly died after just doing that small bit. I have become so out of shape it's not really funny. I will say that it was intervals, so that makes a difference, especially if the only exercise you're used to is going up and down a small step ladder at work or carrying in 31 pounds of cat litter into the apartment. I know I worked something out because I'm kind of sore. Small steps, small steps, small steps. I can do this, I can do this, I can do this.

The way I'm doing this is with a chart from Fitness magazine. I find it funny that 3 of my 4 magazine subscriptions have to do with being fit. I'm far from fit I just like reading them...like it's working my brain out and that's enough for me. Anyway, Fitness magazine had 4 charts, Your First 5k, Your Fastest 5K, Your First 10K, and Your Fastest 10K. I decided to not over do it and chose just Your First 5K. I toyed with the idea in my mind for a few days, let it sit open on my bed and ate chips and continued to ponder on the idea. Then I was at work one day and got to really thinking. Kenny probed me with "what race are you going to run in" and my reply was "none". Well, there really wasn't a point in just running a treadmill if I didn't have a goal. So, there I am thinking at work...what race. It pops into my mind.

In March of 2007 I had to go to an Oncologist for a lump that was found in my breast. I was 22. I was scared out of my mind. I remember sitting in the waiting room and looking at all of the older people in the room who had feather-like hair or bandanna's wrapped around their head. I wasn't supposed to be in here. I was seemingly healthy, I was getting ready to graduate college in the next year, I had everything going for me, and here I was getting ready to find out if I was going to fall into the rare statistic that someone my age has breast cancer. If you know me, you know that I research something to death. When we went on a cruise, I researched every night about that dumb boat...how many people it held, best place to eat or get a drink, what to do at the ports of call, etc. For the most part, it was out of sheer excitement, but a little part of it had to do with being over prepared. I've gotten a lot better about doing things like that, but I still kind of do it...hah. Anyway, I researched as much as I could about the probability of me having cancer and what it might really be, nerdy, I know. The doctor let me know that there are 3 things we can do....take a biopsy which involved a large needle and not a good chance of getting a good enough sample of it, waiting it out to see if it go any larger and come back every 6 months, or have surgery and take it out. I chose to have surgery. We scheduled it for a few months later and a rock settled in my stomach till then. Surgery came and went, everything turned out to be fine, it was a fatty tissue tumor. I went back two more times and everything was positive. If I find something else then I need to go back, so I pray to God nightly, that something like that doesn't happen again.

Anyway, back to the 5K. I wanted to run in something that would mean something to me. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the Susan G. Komen foundation has 5k races throughout the country starting in September and going through October. This is something that hit me and even though it thankfully didn't turn out to be cancer, I did spend some time wondering what my life would be like if I had cancer, something no one should have to think about. So, there it is. It isn't necessarily why I'm running the race, but I know that if I run the race, not only will I help my self get healthier, but I will also help a foundation that means a great deal to me.

Hopefully I can keep up with this blog thing, I'm not terrific at it, but I'll try. I'm hoping to keep track of my progress...maybe. I should be able to tell how well I'm doing by whether or not I feel like croaking after my workout. Now, I'm off to start day 2. Pray for me.