In that case, I sure had a LOT of gain!

Remember when I mentioned that I will carve out a time to run? Well, I finally did it! And boy, oh boy…

First of all, the devil was busy trying to prevent me from starting my first day. I got home from work, changed into my workout clothes, and strapped my iPod Nano to my arm (not the new one… the multi-colored ones that debuted about 10 years ago). 😳

Then I realized I had no headphones. I couldn’t find my old ones after the move, so I used some huge bulky stereo ones that I use for my video editing.

Then I realized that I had no idea where the house key was, so after a few minutes of strategizing, I found a way to make my exit using the garage. (Get thee behind me, Satan!) 👿

When I got outside, I turned my iPod to my “Workout Jamz” playlist, which I must add was circa 2003 (need to update that sucker), and then I was finally ready to stretch and take my first strides of running.

Stretching took about 20 good minutes because I felt muscles and bones that I didn’t even know existed. Also, there was a creaking sound in my knee every time I bent it, so I guess you could say that was a sign of the things to come. 😐

Now playing: “Turn My Swag on – Keri Hilson”

I was pumped and ready to go. “Let me hurry up and pop out about 3 miles real quick.”

My run started off pretty good! And then I realized my headphones were way too clunky. They were moving around on my head with each bounce, so I ended up having to slightly look down as I ran. 😕

As soon as I got over how awkward I must look to my neighbors, I focused again on pacing myself and my breathing technique.

Now playing: “Uh Huh – B2K”

My legs started to feel heavy, and my throat was getting a little scratchy, so I slowed down a bit. A few paces later, my throat was on fire! That’s when I figured that I would have to adjust how many miles I was going to run.

I stopped running to “walk it off,” looked around me, and realized I was only at the end of my street. What… the… heck. 😯

That’s when I had to change my mindset. Instead of thinking I was invincible and able to start off running for miles at a time, I had to readjust my thinking. I decided it would be better if I jogged from point A to B… walked back… and did it all over again for eight reps.

Now playing: “Swagger Like Us – T.I.”

About 5 reps into my run, I started to feel myself again (LOL!) I thought I could take it up a notch and start sprinting instead of jogging.

So for rep 6, I started off jogging and decided to turn on my “turbo gear” during the chorus of the song.

Chiiiiiiiiiiiild. When I tell you that my legs did NOT get the message from my brain…
I was passing the mailbox in front of me just as slowly as I was when I was jogging. I couldn’t do anything but stop and start laughing at myself. 😀

Well, I finally finished my 8 reps. I was even able to sprint the last one (my legs finally got that memo).

As tired as my legs were, and as much as my throat was burning, I was very proud of myself. And I learned an important life lesson:

When it is obvious that the goal cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.

Day one is in the books, and since starting is the hard part, it only goes up from here, people! 🙂