Can you feel wonderful and like you're agonna die at the same time?
This is how I feel right now.

So, I ran Week 1, Day 1 of C25K and for the first 10 minutes I was wondering if I needed something more remedial... say "Couch 2 Driveway" maybe. For those of you unfamiliar, you walk 2 minutes and then run for a minute. This seems easy, right? IT IS NOT. AT ALL. Especially if you are as out of shape as I appear to be. However, I ran most of the one minutes and when I couldn't do 1 minute, I did 45 seconds at least. This was not full on running, mind you. Just light jogging. But it felt like torture. If zombies were chasing me and I had to maintain that run, I would have just stopped and offered them my brains willingly. (That's a little tip of the hat to today's Halloween celebration. Normally, I will not be discussing zombies in great depth).

So... how did I do?
I covered 1.63 miles in 30 minutes.
My run pace was a 16.02 minute mile.
My walk space was a 19.13 minute mile.
My average pace was a 18.59 minute mile.

This is TOO SLOW for the Princess 1/2. They require a 16 minute mile. But for day one, I am closer to the 16 minutes than I thought. So, that is not all bad. And hey, my run speed was a slow jog and that was in the 16 range. I am not too displeased and more than anything, I am thrilled I got off my butt to DO SOMETHING.

Here's the best part, my darling daughter Zaine, age 9, went with me! She thinks it would be fun to train with me and I am so excited!! She has off school today so we went running in the AM, but for the future, we will go after she gets home from school. She has musical theater on Tuesdays and Fridays, so we will run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. I think I will repeat days in between. Like tomorrow, I am going to try W1D1 again to see if I can do all the minute runs without stopping at 45 seconds.

Supposedly, it gets easier. That was what I read on the interwebs and you know what you read online is always the truth. Actually, Jeff Galloway, the coach type person for RunDisney, says this - so I really do believe it. I think showing up is more than half the battle, so if I just keep getting out there I'll have to make progress.

So yay me! And yay Zaine! We are moving in the right direction!!

The day before...

This will be my blog on starting a running program and I hope you will go through this journey with me... I will need the support! I am starting a program for two reasons:

1) To lose weight
2) To run in the Disney Princess 1/2 marathon in 2013

A little about me... well, I am a couch potato - big time. I'm 41 years old with 2 kids, ages 9 and 13. I had gastric bypass surgery 9 years ago and was down to a feisty size 6. I stayed there for about 4 years and then had some health issues resulting in a diagnosis of a chronic and annoying illness requiring daily medication. (More on that if I feel like sharing as we move through the blogging experience). I started taking meds that caused me to gain weight - 25 lbs in 1 month to start. I was devastated and threatened not to take my meds unless they found something that didn't cause weight gain. I eventually found a medication that works and doesn't cause weight gain. Great, except I have gotten lazier as I have gotten older and have gained about 35 additional lbs, so I am about 60 lbs up from my smallest weight. I'd like to get somewhere in that size 6-8 neighborhood again and I know it begins with exercise.

My inspiration is the Disney Princess 1/2 marathon. I LOVE DISNEY! I try to go to WDW at least once every year. When I saw the Princess medal you get for completing the race, I was sold. Since it is already practically November 2011, I just don't feel I will be ready for the 2012 Princess 1/2 in February, so I am setting my sights on the 2013 race. I think this is a more realistic and healthier goal for me.

I am starting TOMORROW on the Couch 2 5K (C25K) program, so this is truly a "before" posting. I have been wanting to do this program for a while and just haven't been motivated. So now I am... YAY!

Tomorrow I plan to walk/run DAY ONE of the C25K program outside in the neighborhood, but I'd like to get a good treadmill to train inside. This is a confusing process! They can be so expensive and how fancy does it really need to be? I want a good, solid treadmill that can handle long-distance running, but that will not break the bank. Any suggestions are welcome. My hope is to get one within the next two weeks. I actually could do it a bit faster but my transport automobile is currently not working, so I need to get that fixed first.

I also know I'll need proper gear, like good running shoes and the like. I guess I just need to prove to myself that I will actually get off my butt and do this first before I start shelling out moolah. That is one of the main reasons for blogging... to have accountability!! I'd also like to share my successes and set backs with invisible people on the internet. Following through on this program AND following through on blogging will be a huge WIN for me. I tend to be great with ideas and lousy on actually completing them. Hopefully, this will be a turning point!

Wish me luck!!