So one day (not unlike most days) I was feeling especially fat and out of shape and really wished I could throw on some jogging shoes and go for a run. Now you may ask “why Liz, don’t you just throw on some jogging shoes, and go for a run then?” Well I’ll tell you why mister question asker. I have been down the “I’m gonna get in shape for realz” road many a time in the past and it always ends in the same pain, the same boredom and the same sense of overwhelming failure.

So I vent these feelings one day via facebook (gotta love talking to that wall) and it answered me back. My friend Jon suggests I try a program called C25K (couch to 5K) for the ipod touch. A handy dandy program that interrupts your music while jogging and tells you when to run, when to walk and when to stop and turn around. Very handy indeed. It’s a 9 week program and supposedly, at the end of this 9 weeks, I will be able to run a 5k. This seems highly unlikely to me but I’m trusting the millions of reviews from peeps that have already tried this one and believing it will work for me too.

Yoshi is SOOOO ready to go, can you tell??

I went for my first run today and it felt good. Really good. I took my hubby Dan and my dog yoshi (who was SUPER thrilled to be going on a walk)  and we followed the prompts and before you knew it, 30 mins was up and it was all over. No sore knees, no aching side, just fresh air in my lungs and a feeling of accomplishment (wow this is a new feeling. I like it).

I’ll be running Sunday, Tuesday, Thursdays and hopefully going for 30 minute walks on the off days with yoshi to get my 3 hours of exercise per week. I will be posting updates weekly to mostly keep myself accountable for keeping up with my plan (ie if I don’t blog, you’ll all know I have failed and I really don’t enjoy public humiliation so hopefully I will stay motivated).

My goal is simple. I just want to feel in shape. I want to feel healthy. I’m not trying to get into a summer bikini or look 5 years younger (I make cakes for a living after all) I just don’t want to feel like a fat sack anymore. Also, my husband and I are looking to start a family in the near future and I know it’s a lot easier to get pregnant and to have an easier birth if you are more in shape.

My good friend Stephanie also got an itouch for Christmas and has decided to do the program with me as well. Her motivation is a wedding in May. She has a treadmill at home so she’ll be doing her program a  little differently than me (since I am running outside) but I’ll let you know how it goes with her too for comparison.

So wish us all luck and I’ll be letting you know how it goes week by week. Thanks for all the encouragement so far, you guys are the best

-Liz

*If you want to learn more about this program, check it out here or download the c25k app on your ipod touch or iphone.