First day of Couch to 5K

Today's weight: 242.6
Lbs lost: 2.4

Yesterday, I did the first day of Couch to 5K (the workout that starts with get your bum off of the couch). It completely kicked my butt. Methinks the program may not have been designed for people who are carrying an extra person wrapped around their middle. But I can get past that.

I downloaded the podcast from Robert Ulrey and fired it up (note to self, need to find a better headset, the one I just bought keeps falling out of my ears). It was nice not to have to look at the time to see when to walk/run. It plays continuous music and gives you cues.

The first five minutes is a "brisk walk." I set the treadmill at 3 mph and off I went (yeah, I realize that's not so brisk). Five minutes down, and I'm feeling pretty good.

Then we start the intervals. You run for 60 seconds and walk for 90. Rinse and repeat for 20 minutes. The first few intervals went ok. After that, my heart rate was going into the 170's, my shin splints felt like they were going to split my calves in two, and I thought I was going to throw up at any given moment. I ended up skipping a few run intervals.

I think I'm going to be at week one for a while, but that's ok. I expected that.

Now I'm going to need to go find some good running shoes this weekend. I tried every shoe on in the New Balance store and nothing felt right. I have wide, flat feet and a shallow heel (yeah, I've got the Irish Cankles, yea me!). Everything slips off my heel. I'm going to find a running store that will help me properly fit for a shoe. Right now I'm wearing a cheap pair of tennis shoes from Payless. They don't slip off my heel but the cushioning and fit is not great quality.

Chicago Marathon? Maybe I should have started a little smaller...

This is Me

My name is Bridget. I am a wife, a mother of two, and full time working executive. I like blogging , playing Texas Hold Em Poker, photography, and cooking. Oh, and I'm fat.

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I work from home so for a long time it's been easy for me to be labeled "the nice one" or "the bubbly one" or "the smart/outspoken/fill-in-whatever-adjective-you-want one." But I wasn't thought of as "the fat one" because they never saw me. A few teleconferences later and whether my label has changed or not, I feel like it has. Every time I talk on the phone to one of the people that saw me in a videoconference I'm thinking "is he/she picturing me in the green sweater with the red hair and the extra 100lbs?"

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I could make lots of excuses for why I got to be 100 lbs overweight, but it's all moot at this point. What is important is I'm sick of being overweight and sick of being "the fat one." I want to lose weight so that I can be there for my two young beautiful girls. I want to lose weight so that I can grow old and enjoy my years with my wonderful husband. I want to lose weight so that I can be healthy and happy. I want to lose weight so that I can shop for clothes in the latest trends rather than in the latest tent. I want to lose weight to live.

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I'm not going to stretch this out over decades and have dozens of false starts. I'm in this to the end. By December 31, 2009 I want to weight 100 lbs less at 145 lbs. That's a reasonable 2 lbs a week that I'll achieve through diet and exercise.

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To make sure I stick with it, I put some accountability out there and the ultimate motivator goal. I have signed up to run in the Chicago Marathon on October 11. I may not be able to run the entire 26.2 miles, but I'm going to make every effort to try. I'm starting with the "couch to 5K" program that is supposed to have me running three miles within nine weeks. We'll see how that goes and I'll go from there.

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I'll be posting recipes, meal plans, my weight loss and measurement progress, and updates on how I'm doing with the running. So join me on my journey. I could use some friends to talk to along the way.