The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown

So I blog about doing Couch to 5K. It's a good idea, I'm excited about it. But I'm also thinking, when I give up next week, no biggie. I'll just not blog about it anymore and people will think that I just don't find it blog-worthy anymore? Right?

Except then my friend Amy says she's been thinking about this too. And that there's a 5k run each year in November sponsored by the local YMCA. Right the Turkey Trot. I always ignore those fliers when they get posted in our back room at work.

Except I've now been challenged to run in said Turkey Trot.

Oh.

So um, now I really do have to run. And walk. And try and follow this Couch to 5K program, because optimist that I am, I have agreed to participate in this year's Turkey Trot of DOOM!

The Y isn't even advertising it yet. Because it is September. Only the third of September, to be exact. And yet November is looming over me like a flyswatter about to destroy an annoying pest.

That all being said, I've signed up on dailymile and if you are also on dailymile, or want to track your workouts and have people spur you on and thus join dailymile, you can find me here, and then add me as a friend. I need friends. And you need exercise. So it's a win-win!

(The site allows you to record your workouts of a variety of methods, from walking, running, hiking, cycling, yoga... and the like, whichever! So it's not just for Couch to 5K.)

Oh. I also did my first day's worth of running, this morning. Well running and walking. Let me tell you. I hate running. I despise it. But I made it through!

New Life Project: Couch to 5K

I have a friend named Megan and she is awesome. I visited her once when we both lived in North Carolina, except I lived in the middle of the state, and she lived on the beach. Well, maybe not right on the beach, but a lot closer than say, Raleigh. Anyway, she had me eat some weird food at this really nice restaurant on the beach, but it was actually kind of delicious, and I have no idea what it was now. I just know that if I had been with people who were more like me I never would have tried that delicious food because it had a funny name and was possibly seafood related. So Megan is awesome and that is just one small reason why.

However, Megan is also crazy. Because she's training to run a half-marathon. Now I'm not actually sure what a half-marathon is. I think a marathon is about 25 or 26 miles? I could look this up but I'm lazy and don't care that much. Because I will never run a marathon or a half-marathon (which would be 12.5-13 miles?)

There is a very good reason for this.

That's insane!

So no, no marathons of any sort are to be found in my future.

However, I have decided that as part of my overall plan to get healthier, I should exercise more. And since I know a lot of people who have had success through the Couch to 5K program, I figured I would give it a try.

I especially like this idea because it starts with the assumption that I spend a lot of time on my couch. I do. It is a smart program. Unlike Tae Bo. I'm showing my age here, but Tae Bo took off in popularity around the time I got to college. Everyone was doing it. You got to do fun things like punch the air and then kick the air, and then kick over a vase, and accidentally fall into the television because Tae Bo, unlike Couch to 5K, started with the assumption that you were secretly a ninja.

I am not.

Not to mention, it was impossible to find a place to do Tae Bo in the dorms. I couldn't do it in my dorm room, because that room was the size of a closet and far too risky. I'd either risk falling into the television, or kicking my roommate in the face. And though my roommate and I didn't always get along, I really didn't want to kick her in the face.

Plus, my roommate had an unhealthy love of television, and so the chances of getting her to grant me use of the tv long enough to run through a workout were highly unlikely.

Some other friends had group Tae Bo workouts going on in one the community rooms in the basement. This was also a poor idea. Because not only would I risk accidentally falling into the television in front of an entire group of people, but the guys in my dorm discovered the girls work out room and would watch from the hallway whenever someone forgot to cover the windows on the door.

I have to admit, that was pretty smart thinking.

Regardless though, the point is that I hope to have a lot more success with this Couch to 5 K program than I did with Tae Bo, twelve years ago. And if I really can be running five kilometers in about ten weeks, well, I shall have to reward myself somehow.

First though, I need a pair of shorts.

Congratulations, Nashville Kangaroos!

Winners of the MAAFL Grand Final!
(Entire set here.)

Housekeeping!

Fess up. Have you ever stolen one of those "Do Not Disturb" signs from a hotel? Some hotels offer rather clever ones, and I would assume that they budget in the ones that will "disappear" from rooms after the guests have checked out.

That being said, I've done some things to the blog and I thought I'd mention them. First, the background has changed. I think Blogger only added the option to upload your own photo recently, though I could have just missed it before. Repeatedly. While looking for one. But it's possible! Either way, the option is there now, and I have taken full advantage of it. The photo in question was taken at Bee Rock in Tennessee.

(Bee Rock is perfect for lazy hikers. You get a great view after a very short hike. In fact, it's rather unfair to call it a hike. It's mostly a leisurely stroll.)

Second, I finally took care of that empty About page. It is no longer empty.

And finally, since Bloggger has finally started flagging spam comments as spam, I've disabled comment moderation. If spam comments become an issue again, I'll turn it back on. But until then, comment away!

Now seriously. Who here hasn't swiped a Do Not Disturb sign?

I'm sure I have at one point or the other.

In One Week...

The Great Puzzle will officially launch.

Curious? Curiouser and curiouser?

Just wait and see!