O! The Big E!

It's probably about time to talk about the other half of this losing weight equation.

The Big E.

Exercise.

Da da DUM!

Will you believe me if I tell you that I actually look forward to it? I do. I swear.

I've never been a joiner. I don't dig the idea of Jazzercize or Pilates class. So that wasn't my choice. I've tried tapes/DVDs before and never really liked that either. So I started with plain old ordinary walking.

Just me and my dog in the basement. Me on the treadmill. Her sniffing around the corners and 2x4s. (The basement isn't finished, in other words.) At the time, Jim was still on the road and not home at night. So I'd get home from work, eat, and then head downstairs.

The first night I walked a mile at a 3.0-ish mph pace just to see what that was like. I have always walked, on and off, so it wasn't that big of a deal. And I held on to the machine for dear life, though, because as I think I've mentioned before, I'm a bit clumsy.

I didn't walk every night. But I tried to do it a few nights a week. I gradually increased both the distance and the speed. Gradually.

I'd play games with myself ... bump up the speed one notch for a quarter mile and then knock it back down again. Then the next night, I'd bump it up for a quarter mile two different times during the two miles. Then I'd try two notches. Then go from two to four times. And on and on.

For a while, 2 miles a night felt like a LOT. But over time, it starts to get easier. Soon I was up in the 4.0 range for three or four miles. Then 4.5. Then I'd kind of run. It was the slowest run in the world, mind you, but it was a run. Soon I was running more intervals than I was walking. And then the game became how far could I run without walking?

By the end of May, just three months after I started this whole shebang, I was running 5 miles at a time. I'd do 5 miles on Saturdays and Sundays, and only about 3 miles on three or four nights a week.

I loved that I could keep challenging myself and meeting my goals. I loved that it was all me ... it didn't require any sporting equipment, other players, or a gym membership. I liked one-upping myself each time.

I loved coming upstairs, sweating, and telling Jim how far I'd gone.

I even entertained the idea of running a half marathon. It just felt so good to be "free" in my body.

I loved it so much that I took running clothes on vacation when my sister, nieces, mom and I went on a week-long vacation in the Dells in June. I told them I needed one hour a day to work out and they made sure our schedule allowed it.

That was the last time I ran.