What It's All About

I'm starting this blog because I have about 4 months until our wedding. More than ever, I am determined to get in shape and lose those extra pounds I've been meaning to for years now. Really, who wants to look chunky and flabby in their wedding photos. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, I want to look perfect. Yes, I'm vain. So I've been working out on a regular basis, 3-4 times per week, for a few months. I try to watch what I eat, but I admit, I am not the most diligent at this task.

A good friend of mine told me how he'd been training to run 30 minutes straight, which is approximately equivalent to a 5k. I figure, if he can do it then I can. We seem to be on the same playing field fitness wise. So I am now embarking on a 9-week training program. At the end of this program, I should be able to run 30 minutes straight. My goal is to sign up for a 5k. I don't care how long it takes me, I just want to accomplish this.

So 2 days ago, I began training. The program is designed so that you run 3 times per week and each week becomes more and more challenging. This week I begin by walking 5 minutes briskly. I then run 1 minute and walk 1.5 minutes. I do this for a total of 20 minutes with a give minute walk cool down.

My usual workout consists of walking at intervals for 30-45 minutes, 3-4 times per week. I like this workout because it allows me to burn a lot of calories, usually 350-400 calories. On my first day of training, I felt like since I workout on a regular basis, this should be really easy. Although it was quite easy, I noticed that I was sweating a lot more than usual and that my heart rate was more accelerated than usual. My first day felt amazing. The next day, my body was sore from head to toe! I've been trying to stretch it out so that I can accomplish my next training session. Today will be my second training session. I still feel sore but I am hoping that getting right back into it will help void the pain. I can especially feel it in my inner and outer thighs, which actually surprises me. When I have ran in the past, I often got shin splints. So I'm pleasantly surprised that I didn't get them this time. Maybe I'm not in such bad shape afterall! Right now I am holding off of major weight training, but I will be incorporating arm and back weight training, but very lightly. I don't want to overwork myself too soon.

Along with my running training, I will be keeping a diary of my food intake. I am using SparkPeople to track. So far I'm really pleased with the website. It seems very accurate and they have all foods you can think of on there. They also provide healthy recipes, which I always love to try. I am shooting for 1200-1400 calories per day.

The purpose of this blog is for my own personal benefit. It's an easy way to track my accomplishments, failures and feelings during this process. It makes me feel like this process and plan is "Fail Proof". Here's to the next 9 weeks!!

GOALS: Be able to run 30 minutes straight (at least)
Run a 5k this year
Lose 10-15 pounds