Some people ask me what a good activity to do to lose weight is and I can only tell them about my activities. The first thing I remember doing when I wanted to lose weight was to run.
Well that was a little misleading because I had forgoten how terrible and dreading it was (and can be) to actually get out of the bed and into my jogging suit. Lace up my sneakers and then motivate my self to step out the door of my house to simply run up a sweat around my neighborhood.
I do remember how
easy
it was to plot a course first.
I started out with a goal of simply trying to walk just one mile to see how far it actually was.
I only sort of remembered from school that a mile is something like 5000 feet or so.
Well to make things easier for me I just decided to walk the distance it would take to go from one traffic light to the next traffic light and back to where I started from.
I knew I wanted to make it at least that one mile when I ran so I conditioned myself to simply walk the mile distance for about 3 days in a row.
After I knew I could walk the distance, I then ran at a *moderate pace* that one mile distance just so I could see what my heart and lungs could put up with.
If you could remember what it was like to run the mile in gym class and it has been a while...
....it's not different! It still puts you to your limits especially if you haven't done any physical exercise for more than a year!
After I had finished running just that one mile distance, I would walk back just to see what the difference was. When I had got back to my apartment it took me at least 2 days to figure out that I had traveled not just one mile but 2
(there and back ... duh)
So I figured
"Hey, I just did about 2 miles and I know I can run it there and run it back."
So that's what I did!
Once I accomplished that goal I got home and made a calender.
I wrote in the calender how many miles I was going to travel instead of how many I would just run or walk and then I charted what I was able to accomplish.
Then I would set a goal to see how much further I could make it in the same direction.
Remember you gotta walk before you run.
So it was wise for me to plot a course of about 1 more traffic light and just walk the distance there and back.
I simply followed the same routine plotting a course walking the distance there and back and then run it there and walk it back plotting my accomplishments on my calender.
When I made it to about 4 miles one direction,(just walking) I knew it was going to be a challenge to run this far yet I laced up my sneaks and started to jog.
True it was exilerating to continue to push my self this far! I didn't think I could make, yet I was doing it while I was quitting smoking and for the first time in about 10 years I felt my lungs burn with something more than tar and ashes.
I had walked back the whole time I could feel me heart pounding and I could even see my veins pulse with every beat of my heart so I knew it was a good thing I was doing
and yes man I was sooo tired and sore more in a way I didn't know I could be.
I got back to the calender that night and set the goal that for the next month I would run that 4 mile distance and run back!
I knew I could do it.
So that's what I did!
It's been about 5 years since I made the choice to fill my heart and lungs with oxygen instead of carbon monoxide and I know it was the best decision I could have made for myself.
Now don't get me wrong I know I wouldn't have made it to run that 1 mile distance if I didn't walk it first.
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