More Running Excuses...

I got some great feedback about the ease of running and the excuses we all make for ourselves to not run, eat better, or make an effort to get healthy and stay that way.  Notice, I did not mention weight loss.  My original goal was not to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

After I had Parker in April of 2010, I slowly started walking with him in the stroller 4 days each week.  By October of 2010, I was able to walk for an hour whenever I went out and I averaged about 3 miles.  I turned 30 in September and felt good about my weight, even though our bathroom scale had broken and I wasn't sure what my true "number" was.  At this point, I just judged my relative health by the way my clothes fit and how tired I was when I went to sleep at night.

In December 2010 I decided that I could maximize my hour-long workouts if I started running - jogging - galloping some during my hour I committed to exercise.  I had to give up some of my long-standing excuses in order to get started.

1) Stuff jiggles when I run - you know you've thought it.  Solution - I wear two bras (sorry, that may be TMI for some of you) and think to myself that when my butt jiggles, I'm literally working to "run my *ss" off.  Works every time to motivate me to go a little farther!

2) If I start running and lose weight and get more toned, then Heaven forbid, I would have to keep running!  As crazy as this sounds, I had a fear of failure towards working out - if I started and it worked, what if I quit and gained the weight back and my new clothes didn't fit.  Solution - I was at a point that I would rather be healthy and happy and working out regularly, even if I have to do cardio 4-5 times a week for the rest of my life.  My grandmother walked 6 miles everyday until she was 80 - I can at least knock out 3.2 running.

3) It's a pain to have to take showers and wash my hair everyday if I workout.  I know this sounds superficial, but with my old schedule, it was impossible to squeeze in an hour a day to workout, muchless shower again and dry my hair.  Solution - If I straighten my hair, then I wear it for two days, otherwise I have curly hair that takes much less time to fix.  Dry shampoo, baby powder, and perfume can also be your best friend, just don't tell Benton!

So get yourself motivated and go do something today!  I ran 5 kilometers in my best time this morning (34:30 mins) and then walked another 4.3 kilometers.  I would have hit another 10K if it hadn't started raining.  Don't let yucky weather be an excuse either!

KAB