Training Day #1

Okay, so I said I'm going to run a marathon--now I have to start training. Lately I've been acting like 24 Hour Fitness is a charity to which I generously donate monthly. I give, but don't take. Too bad I don't get a break on my taxes for it though. Anyway, that's gotta change. But, I've never run on a treadmill and am scared to tackle that on day #1. I figure I'll just get up early in the morning, go for my three mile run, and then shower and head off to work energized and ready to tackle anything that comes my way.

I must have fallen and hit my head before I came up with the thoughts above. There's NO WAY I was going to get out of bed that first morning when the alarm clock rang. I talked myself out of running by saying that I'd make more walking trips during the day between my desk and bathroom...maybe if I went every 15 minutes, by the end of the day I would have walked like...a mile or something. And hey, that's not really the same as running three miles, but I'm sure Oprah had to start out slow like this also.

By the end of the day I felt pretty bad that I didn't start training like I said I would. So, after work, I went home and put on my running shoes (note to self: need new running shoes that don't have holes in...the holes make me look like an amateur). I started my three mile run just after the sun set and I gotta tell you, when I started to run, I felt awesome! I was breathing well and bouncing right along. This was turning out to be A LOT easier than I thought it would be!

Thirty seconds later...just around the corner from my house, I wanted to lie down and cry. My body was obviously playing a cruel trick on me...making me think that this was going to be easy and then once I got going, making me understand that this was going to be hell.

I had already started the run, though, so I had to keep going...down Alicia to Laguna Hills--and then back. I felt like I weighed 200 lbs. My shoulders hurt. If I had had the energy, I would have hurled myself into traffic to end it all. But all I could do was put one foot in front of the other in a straight line. And in the end, I made it back to my condo.

And then the pain REALLY started. My thighs burn like a wildfire! I can hardly walk. Clearly, I'm so out of shape that even running three miles makes my body freak out. Let's hope this gets easier...help me Oprah!