Baby Steps

In the movie "What About Bob?" Bill Murray plays a guy named Bob who is scared of basically everything and it affects his life dramatically. While meeting with his new psychiatrist, Dr. Leo Marvin, Bob is introduced to Baby Steps, a book written by Dr. Marvin. The book is about tackling the big things in life by taking smaller steps.

As a way to get back on track with running I have developed my own baby steps. I have designed a program that starts out slow and builds gradually. I can't take all the credit for it. I took the concept from an article in Runner's World and adapted it. It's something that can work for me and will hopefully build up strength in my IT band.

A brief description of my 15 week program:
Week 1 - Run 1 minute, walk 2 minutes - repeat 10 times.
Week 2 - Run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute - repeat 10 times.
Week 3 - Run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute - repeat 8 times.
Week 4 - Run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute - repeat 6 times.
Week 5 - Run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute - repeat 5 times.
Week 6 - Run 6 minutes, walk 1 minute - repeat 4 times.
Week 7 - Run 7 minutes, walk 1 minute - repeat 4 times.
Week 8 - Run 8 minutes, walk 1 minute - repeat 3 times.
Week 9 - Run 8 minutes, walk 1 minute - repeat 3 times.
Week 10 - Run 10 minutes, walk 1 minute - repeat 3 times.
Week 11 - Run 11 minutes, walk 1 minute - repeat 2 times.
Week 12 - Run 12 minutes, walk 1 minute - repeat 2 times.
Week 13 - Run 13 minutes, walk 1 minute - repeat 2 times.
Week 14 - Run 14 minutes, walk 1 minute - repeat 2 times.
Week 15 - Run 15 minutes, walk 1 minute - repeat 2 times.

As an added incentive, I've added rewards. Rewards are good ways to motivate yourself to stay committed to a program.

My rewards:
Completing Week 3 - A treat from Jamba Juice.
Completing Week 6 - Get a pedicure.
Completing Week 9 - Buy a new shirt.
Completing Week 12 - Buy a new dress.
Completing Week 15 - Get a massage.

I have already completed week one and am on day 2 of week 2. I'm excited to continue this schedule because it's gradual and rewarding. I'm not sure what I'm going to do after week 15, but I will develop that when I get closer, especially because that puts me at the end of October and poorer weather, and I will need additional motivation to exercise outside.

Another trick to keep myself motivated is to run around the neighborhood. The Centennial Trail is located right outside my apartment complex but I'm found that when I run on that I compare myself not only with time but with distance. By running around the blocks in my neighborhood I don't really know my distance, which keeps me from pushing myself too hard. In addition, the roads in the neighborhood are gravel, so they are more forgiving that the paved trail. It's been a great way to stay focused and committed.

Roots

I was getting ready for bed when my husband laid down next to me to talk. A lot had been on my mind, mostly that I wasn't happy. We started talking about why and it came down to the fact that I haven't accomplished anything or been the best in anything. For me is began to boil down to my running.

In college I injured my IT band and haven't been able to run for than 2 miles without it hurting. As a result, the rest of my life changed. Not being able to run was probably one of the most devastating things for me because I love running. As a result, I've gained weight and have not been happy. I don't have those endorphins firing off.

Jon and I decided to try yet again to get started on a routine for running. He's going to help me get started. I want to be a runner again, but I'm scared. We agreed to do a couple things. First - I can't compare myself to my previous self. This one will be hard, but I can try. As a way to adhere to that rule I decided I couldn't use a stop watch until I was able to run 3 miles without walking. And second, I have to listen to Jon when he says we're going to exercise - no excuses.

I'm starting small. Starting with a mile and getting to where I can run that without walking. Then increasing it to 2 miles. Once I can get that down, I'll increase it to 3 miles. One I get to running that, I'll add a stopwatch and start to train to become competitive.

I'm excited but scared to get started. However, running seems to be at the root of my unhappiness.

Difficult Time

I have had such a difficult time exercising. I don't really have an excuse other than laziness. I'm going to try and stay committed. It looks like Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays will be my exercising days, at least as far as going to the workout room is concerned.

I've been trying to do workout videos in the morning - 10-minute abs and 10-minute buns, but I find myself being way to tired to do them. I was getting up at 6 to do those and then go on a walk, but it's been too cold in the mornings to go for walks. Now I'm going to adjust my wake up time to 6:30 and see if I can make a go of that.

Hopefully I can find a way to get motivated and stay committed.

New Year, New Beginning

I did not make a New Year's resolution to lose weight or exercise. Resolutions barely last. However, Jon and I both realized the need for us to start working out again. We've been going fairly often with the exception of the last two days.

I've been doing about a mile on the elliptical with an occasional run on the treadmill. I've also incorporated weights into my routine. We also decided that on Sundays we're going to play racquetball instead of running.

I find myself making excuses about not going, but in reality, I need to go more and do more. It's just finding the motivation to do it. Yesterday Jon had been snowshoeing all day and was exhausted. I should have gone but used the excuse of spending time together as a reason not to go. Jon eventually fell asleep on my lap while I read.

Pray that I can commit and stay with it.

Mon - Wed

Monday and Tuesday I went and exercised, but I seem to have lost my motivation. I only did about 1/2 mile. I didn't do my crunches or push ups. I'm not sure what happened, but I have become unmotivated about working out. I would like to lose some weight and I know that exercise is a fast way to do that, but still I find myself not wanting to go do it. I'm letting the busyness of life get in the way again. I think I would be more inclined to exercise if I could watch TV or something while doing it. Maybe I should take my book with me next time and do some reading while I work out. I know I won't go as fast, but maybe it will keep me moving.

We didn't exercise last night. After dinner we went shopping to get a display board and groceries. Once we got home I got started on making Jon's display board. It's not nearly as professional as I'd like, but I think it will look good. However, because of this new project, I was working on it until 10 when I realized I needed to go to bed, thus no exercising.

Started Again

Last Thursday I didn't go running like I had planned. The reason: I threw up.

Last night, however, I did go running. I didn't do much, but I did some. Some is better than none. Tonight I'm going to do at least a mile.

Break the Chain

This year has been a year of struggling to stay committed to exercising. I get excited and motivated for a few days or weeks but then I start making excuses and stop.

I really need to find a way to stay motivated and committed. I'm going to go exercise today at 7 pm.