Day 1

I don't like running. Shocker, considering the blog, I know. So why would I decide to run a 5k in about 8 weeks? I suppose for the same reasons a lot of non-runners run 5ks....to get in shape. But it goes a bit deeper than that, I think. I don't like exercising but I want to be healthy. I don't like exercising because I'm not disciplined. Don't get me wrong, I love that feeling when you're done exercising - it's just the actual doing it that I don't like.

I've tried running on a treadmill, using an elliptical, running inside on a track, running outside on a street, using a BeachBody DVD series, using any DVD/at home program, and it all ends in one of four options - I get bored, I get lazy, I get discouraged, or I run out of time. So I need a goal, I guess (other than looking good in a bikini, because that's not really me). Hello, 5K. I would like you to not humiliate me, please.

The other side of it is that I don't like doing things I'm not good at, but I'm satisfied with being good enough at most things. I played sports in middle school and was one of the best, but didn't pursue anything in high school because I didn't want to work that hard. I was (am?) musically inclined, but not passionate enough to improve my ability. Since I'm not good at running, and we've established that I'm not disciplined enough to work at things I'm good at (let alone things I'm not!), I've never been sold out on running.

But I want to be different. I want to be better.

Not just at running, but a better me. I figure if I can learn to be disciplined in this one, tangible area of my life, maybe, just maybe, I'll learn how to carry that discipline (and dare I say or hope, passion?) into other areas of my life.

So. Here I am. 26 years old, not quite so lean through the torso, never having run more than a mile (and even that was a while ago!), 8 weeks from my first 5k. "Training" will follow the New Balance Couch-to-5K in 5 weeks plan (maybe I'll actually enjoy those last 3 weeks and actually just run).

Week 1, Day 1: Brisk walk for 30 minutes. Done and done. (I would hope that I could walk for 30 minutes!)

And I already feel like a better me. Day 2, bring it on!