Sidelined

There are many reasons to fret about being sick, but I never figured “not getting to run” would be one of them – maybe for crazy folks it might be, but certainly not for me. That’s where I am tonight though, laid up with a particularly nasty late-spring cold wondering if it would just be totally insane for me to go out running tomorrow morning anyway, even though my throat feels like it’s being gripped by a Velociraptor.

Maybe I’ll get lucky and Sam Neil will have come and whisked the Raptor back to Jurassic Park by morning, but at this moment, I’m feeling a little more like Newman right before he missed his ferry. 

I’m hoping for the best though, because, believe it or not, I really like to run. In fact, I more than like it. I love it. I get a real thrill out of pushing myself. I’m disappointed in myself when I fail to reach a daily goal, but the joy I feel when I succeed is indescribable. At this very moment, I’m getting kind of anxious at the prospect of not getting my miles in this week. I haven’t run since Sunday morning, and it’s even making me kind of mad. So yeah, it’s official. I’ve gone a little nuts, but I don’t care. I GET it now.

It is truly possible to enjoy exercise, even if it brings a little pain. The sense of accomplishment you feel after completing some sort of physical challenge is one of the few legal highs in life. For me, now I get that from running. I push myself to run longer and longer distances, little bit by little bit. The exercise now has little to do with weight loss, it's all about the joy of the sport itself, but I found the joy in exercise way before I found my place out on the road. I am not athletic or gifted in any way, so I feel blessed to have recognized that this joy is open to all of us – even us SuperSpazzes.

The key is to start small, and have a goal. 

In order to accomplish anything, you have to set goals for yourself, big and small. If you reward yourself as you meet the small goals  (there's no better excuse to splurge on a new handbag, pair of shoes or new clothes) you'll be more motivated to reach the next one and the next one and then the next one. You'll also be less likely to give in and give up when you get "sidelined" by illness or plateaus or set backs or days when you make poorer choices (I've had a few of those myself, lately).

During my weight loss journey, I set a series of 5 and 10 pound mini-goals all with the end goal of that elusive magic number - the one I'm still chasing. I've had the pleasure of changing the magic number a few times as well - moving it down and down again as I met goals and wanted to go further. It's been over a year now, and the magic number's the last one to go. Honestly, I've seen it (the current and probably final one) a few times...just not on my weigh-in day! But that just inspires me to try that much harder.

Exercise goals are no different. I did not start out saying, "I'm going to run a half-marathon" or even "I'm going to start running." Running wasn't even on my radar. I have great respect for all of you Couch to 5K (C25K) folks out there because I had no intentions of running. I got winded just running to the bathroom, so I just figured I'd walk. It would be good for me and good for the dog.

My first exercise goals all centered around simple quick walking. I'd walk anywhere from 1.5 to 3.5 miles (depending upon how much time I had and what the weather was doing) 3-4 times a week. My goal was to get at least 1/2 hour of walking in 4 times a week. Any more than that was just gravy. And that's all I did for a couple of months.

But walking, like running, is kind of weather-dependent. Whereas now, if it's raining, I head inside and hoof it on the "dreadmill" or the elliptical machine, when I couldn't get outside to walk I relied on my old friend, Leslie Sansone. If you have not heard of Leslie Sansone and her "Walk At Home" program, consider this your lucky day. I am an absolute fan of Leslie. I would love to meet her someday, but I'm sure I'd make an absolute fool of myself. The woman's truly changed my life. I'd probably say something ridiculous and start blubbering and be too embarassed to let my husband take my picture with her (or maybe I'm describing my first encounter with Chris Isaak...). Anyway...

I started using her DVDs back in 2003 during my first big weight loss endeavor. I had hit a huge plateau, and when I started using these DVDs, the scale started moving in the right direction again, so I was immediately hooked. I don't even remember how I got turned on to her. It seriously may have been an infomercial, I'm not sure. I know I didn't order any of her products off an infomercial or QVC; you can just as easily find them at Target, WalMart, Best Buy or anywhere else they sell fitness DVDs. She's everywhere - and with good reason.

The Walk At Home DVDs are appropriate for folks at ALL fitness levels. Leslie Sansone is extremely positive, upbeat and totally non-threatening. She's kind of the Anti-Jillian. There are even a few Christian-inspired DVDs that use gospel music. I totally love this program and use it in addition to my running still today. The woman does NOT pay me to say any of this (let's see, free endorsements for Spanx AND Walk At Home...somebody owes me a kickback!); like I said, I'd freak if I ever even met her, but if you are interested in seeing what I'm talking about, check out http://www.walkathome.com/.

But after a couple of months of what I called "cardio-walking," I began to think I wasn't working hard enough. I had more energy, and I needed to use it - I also needed to bust a plateau. So, I convinced my husband to let us join a gym. We had enjoyed our old gym, and this new one was HUGE and had great facilities for kids. It would be wonderful! I could take the kids after school. We could get in some exercise as a family. We could eat together in the fancy healthy cafe. Emma could enjoy the rock wall. I could use the cardio machines and maybe even take a few classes. Jeff could use the lap pool. Oh, the hot tub was just amazing! And it was all very fun and exciting and family-friendly until...

When next we read again - potty training and kid-care at the gym...a good mix? Discuss...

Keep on trying for what you're trying for, Friends!

TTYL - Ali