Couch Potato to Spartan: an Update and a Little Bragging

Wow!  I was awesome today!  I was Spartaneriffic!  Yeah, I know, patting myself on the back.  But really, I accomplished something I haven't done in more than 20 years, since I was in the Army.

Backing up just a bit.  In December I posted that I had committed to running the Spartan Sprint here in Kalispell (OK, it's in Bigfork).  You may recall that my neighbor got me off the couch in August and gave me a goal of just finishing.  "Just finish the race, Carmen. It will give you motivation."  So, I got up and started moving.  My sister, Lisa, turned me on to a program called C to 5K (couch to 5K), a progressive running program designed to get you running 30 minutes solid in about 12 weeks.  So, I started with that.  On my treadmill.  I was too heavy for my joints to take the pounding of running on pavement.

Within 5 weeks, around October 1st, I could "run" 30 minutes.  I started adding in variety with workout DVD's and weight training.  I was still too embarrassed to go to the gym, for which I pay every month to be a member of, but hadn't seen the inside of for a year, so I stuck it out at home.

Around the end of October, we visited my dad and step-mom in Idaho for a weekend.  I brought my running shoes and did my best to run the three mornings we were there.  Brendan and I headed down the farm roads surrounding their property.  20 minutes.  Even though I could do 30-40 on the treadmill, it only took 20 minutes for the outside world to tire me out.  And running on uneven terrain with my unstable ankle didn't feel very good.  I came home from that trip and focused on running.  I ran outside.  I made progress, but because of my excess baggage, my knees and hips started to complain.  The weight was coming off slowly, but coming off.

By mid-November I needed a new routine.  So I went to the gym.  I got some great advice from a trainer who told me "lose 50 pounds, then start running".  She also directed me in upper body strengthening.  I took her advice, mostly, and left the treadmill alone.  I fell in love with the elliptical machine.  And more weights.  And abs.  And soon, I began to feel really dang good.  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I lost 5 pounds.  And I kept working.  On my night shifts at the hospital I started power walking the hall on my lunch break.  I know EVERY picture, ornament and decoration along that hallway.  I also squat, lunge, plank and do sit ups in empty rooms with my ear tuned to the alarms and call lights.  In the last month, the treadmill died, so I got out my old aerobic step (remember those from the 90's?).  I can blast at that thing for 45 minutes and love it.  The biggest change is that I now make exercise, i.e. taking care of myself, part of my daily routine.  And I'm down 30 pounds since Jeanne's wedding on March 31. Thank you very much.

So today.  Today I needed new running shoes so off to Universal I went.  I left with two pair, one for indoor/treadmill, and a pair for trail running.  The season has changed here in Montana. It's now early mud season and 12 weeks to Spartan Sprint.  I decided that increasing the frequency of out door running is in order.  Not too much, since some more baggage needs dropping.  So after the kids went to preschool, I laced up my new trail shoes, hitched up the dog and headed outside.  After all, it was a balmy 35, so no excuse to stay indoors!  I walked/warmed up for about 5 minutes or however long that first song was.  Then I started to trot.  At first, it's a little embarrassing.  I mean the dog doesn't even have to trot to keep ahead of me.  But after 15 minutes, I found my groove and the mutt had to trot a little.  There is a park near my house that basically lives down in a river bottom.  I ran down to it, doing some interval up and down sprints on the switchback leading to the river.  I ran over the river and through the park and up the other side of the bowl.  Then down and and back up that side.  Then down, through the park, with a detour to run the muddy hill (OK, it was a rapid walk up the hill but I made it to the top, which hasn't been possible for years), down the hill, back over the river and up the front of the bowl.  I did two up, one down on the switchback path back up.  I rested and stretched for a minute, then jogged for a little longer and walked home.  I estimated that I ran or made running motions for at least one hour.  Not bad for a girl who had trouble making around the block at a fast walk 10 months ago.

The best part was when I picked up Brendan and Rogun from school.  Brendan asked me how I was and I told him "awesome".  He grinned and asked why and I told them what I had done.  Brendan and Rogun started clapping!  And they were sincere, not the tweenager smart alec clapping.  Both said they were really proud of me.  That won them not only my heart, which they had anyway, but a frosty after middle school orientation.

So yeah, I'm feeling pretty Spartan today.  It won't happen every day like that, but I bet once a week now, me and the dog are going have some fun at the park and other hilly places.  Oh, and my bad ankle?  What bad ankle?