Workout Impossible

In my last post, I wrote about my new year's goals. I call them goals, rather than resolutions, because I feel like resolution is a strong and oft-overused term these days.

One of my goals is to run a 5K, and in my quest to fulfill that goal, I downloaded an application on my iPhone called Couch-to-5K. This is a great application that takes someone with very little running expertise (read: ME) through a 9-week interval training program that eases you into running, gradually adding more and more jogging to your workout until you are comfortable as a runner. I don't run. I am pretty sure I laid that out in my last post. But I have been through four "runs" so far in this program and I have enjoyed all but one of them.

First of all, this gives me a half-hour of "me" time. Sure, when the kids go to bed, I can sit on the couch and watch TV. But then I tend to fall asleep and I don't really get much out of that time to myself. This gives me time to watch a show while exercising my body and doing something good for myself, and I have a clear head afterward so I can THINK.

Second, I don't really "run" through these workouts. I do a brisk walk for the majority of the workout, as per the instructions. I jog at a decent pace through the jogging intervals of the program, and I think fairly soon I will have fewer and fewer walking intervals as I prepare for the 5K. So it is a steady pace for sure, designed for someone like me who doesn't have much desire to run every day. But the more I do it, the more I enjoy it.

As far as losing the baby weight, well, I have gone in reverse there. It seems that whenever I begin an excruciating exercise regimen, I tend to put on a pound or two, and this time is no exception. I haven't altered my diet at all, so that doesn't affect anything. So I tell myself it is just that muscle weighs more than fat and I have to be patient. It's all about my clothes fitting better and my body getting healthier, right?

Yeah, I need to repeat that to myself every day. Because it is really frustrating to kill myself every day, 5 days a week, to see no difference on the scale.

As far as my other goals, we are taking baby steps toward them. Look for big changes in 2012!