Workout Wednesday: Keeping up with the Jones'

Keeping up with the Jones'. We all mock the idea yet it we all do it. Nevermore so than when we are working on weight loss. You make yourself go to the gym and happily (or not so happily) jump on the treadmill ready to have a nice 40 minute workout. When you look left, at the treadmill next to you, and see a woman running at 6.0 miles an hour, making your brisk pace of 3.8 look like nothing.  Or you are working with the free weights, proud that you can now do chest-flys with the 10 lbs. weights only to turn to our right and see another woman doing the same exercise...only with 20 lbs. weights. Thus, making our latest triumph seem mediocre.

None of us are immune, our insecurities about our bodies tend to make us slightly crazy, leading to extremes. We either start crash dieting and exercising or we give up and sit on the couch consoling ourselves with ice cream or potato chips, watching others on television working to change their lives.

I have been on both extremes. I have been overweight since junior high school and done the crash dieting, but never got smaller than a size ten. More often than not though, I found myself on the couch with my friends Ben and Jerry.

Fifteen years ago I bought a gym membership-thinking that paying to work out might make me go- it didn't work. Maybe once every three months I would drag my gym bag out of hiding and trudge to the gym for a week or so. But eventually I would give up knowing that I just wasn't as good as everyone else and knew, after only a few days, I would never accomplish anything there.

It took me years to figure out it didn't matter. It took me years to figure out that I was going to the gym for me, not for other people. Yes there are still times that I feel self-conscious, where I don't think my efforts measure up to Sally Jones our John Jones working out beside me but then I just have to keep pushing forward. I may not keep up with the Jones' but I am better and stronger than I was yesterday and isn't that what matters?

Disney Princess Half Marathon or bust

Elisha and I at my wedding

Six years ago a friend mentioned that she had a friend that I should met. I have thanked Angela many times for that introduction, she introduced me to Elisha, and Elisha and I very soon became close friends and would travel the country to see one another. 

Elisha and set a goal many years ago that we were going to one day run the Disney Princess Half Marathon, see we are both huge Disney fans and there would be nothing better than running together in at Disney World then enjoying a day or two in the Magic Kingdom. 

This remained a pipe dream for many years. There were changes in relationships, we both had children, we both changed jobs, and even though we haven't seen each other in two and a half years we still remain close. Yesterday during a text exchange E brought up the half marathon and after careful deliberation...all of thirty seconds...we decided we are going to shot for the  February 2015 half marathon. I know that is a while away but we have to schedule around family and budgets and readiness. 

So to kick off today I started the couch potato to 5K. It actually went well. Though I have never been a runner I am actually in the best shape of my life (I know, nothing to brag about there). The six days of cardio I have been pulling for the last six months are paying off and I was able to do the run for sixty seconds walk for ninety seconds for 25 minutes with no problem. I know that it will get harder as I progress but right now I feel good. I feel ready to take on this challenge and ready to go down this road with my friend. So her it starts. Weekly updates, stories, failures, and triumphs are around the corner. 

Until then it is scheduling in my runs and looking forward to the day when I will cross the finish line and be crowned a Disney princess with my friend.