First, a little about me. I'm Becca. I'm a 26-year-old professional in Mankato, MN. I used to be a dancer. It pains me to put "used to be" as it was, at one time, a very defining characteristic. When I was a senior in high school I dislocated my right hip while dancing and it really put a damper on my dancing.
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| Me (right) as a senior in high school at a dance competition |
When I went off to college (UW-Eau Claire - go Blugolds!) I was too caught up in my classes and friends to consider working out. I came up with every excuse in the book to avoid it. I really, really
hated working out. All my life as a dancer working out never felt like a work out, it was built-in to doing what I loved - dancing. So when the dancing ended and the boring, treadmill working out should have begun, I hated the idea of exercise. If you know anything about the Eau Claire campus, you know that it has a HUGE hill from the academic buildings to the dorms. I considered my walk up the hill every day my work out and did nothing more.
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| My parents and me during my senior year of college |
Law school only gave me more and better excuses to avoid working out. Too much reading, studying, and volunteering to improve my resume. My one roommate was a marathon-er and my other roommate played tennis for a local rec league. I, in the meantime, supported them by complimenting their motivation and admiring their abilities from the comfort of my couch. I've never really been overweight and, actually, lost weight while in law school due to the stress, so I never felt that I
needed to work out. Afterall, if my weight is within the normal range, I'm healthy, right?!? Wrong. I ate crap food and never gave my body exercise. It only got worse after I graduated and started working. I go to work, down a Mountain Dew and pop tart for breakfast, eat a quick lunch and have a Coke in the afternoon. Then I'd go home, eat a good dinner with my husband (who, by the way, is the most supportive person I know and my best friend), watch a little TV and go to bed.
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| My husband, Dave, and me at my Minnesota Bar swearing-in ceremony |
What has changed, you ask? Well, I'm hoping that today will be my turning point. I woke up late this morning. I was supposed to drive to Kasson to meet up with my parents at our old church to celebrate my piano teacher's retirement but I woke up too late to go. Ooops. I talked to my mom who said she was disappointed that I didn't show. I felt like crap. I then went back to bed, opened my novel, and read in bed until noon. As I got up again I felt like crap both because of missing the morning with my parents and because I was still in my pj's and had accomplished nothing - zero - today. Granted, I love a good day in bed reading a novel every once in a while, but for some reason today really bothered me. I felt like a slob and a disappointment. I hate feeling that way. So, after my typical facebook checks, I found myself on my friend Ann's blog about her journey over the last year or so. Her journey has been one with ups and downs, but in the end she has run over 12 5k's, 1 10k (i think, maybe more?), and 1 half marathon. Simply put: she.is.amazing. If you haven't read her blog, you should check it out
here.
I decided today is going to be different. I would make healthy changes and finally get myself back into shape. After browsing the web for training programs, I decided on the
Couch to 5k program and started my journey. I downloaded the Couch to 5k app onto my iPod touch, told my husband I was going for a run, and started out...
