Wednesday, January 14, 2009

"You're Life Is An Occasion... Rise To It."

Tonight I did something I wasn't sure I could do, until I did it. You see, one of my favorite shows on TV is The Biggest Loser. Check it out sometime, if you've never seen it. Time and time again I see how people's lives are literally transformed before my eyes. Oh, they are so inspiring to me! Well, on last night's show, one of the contestants, a teenager who weighs something like 500? pounds was able to RUN at 7 miles an hour for 30 seconds. Wow. If he could do it, then so could I!!

All day long I'd been thinking about my strategy for my cardio tonight at the Y. I was annoyed that there were no open machines in the cardio room, so I had to do my weights first. Darn it! But once I was done, I went back.. yeah, open treadmills. I know what I listen to makes a huge difference in my overall workout. Usually I listen to Christian music, uplifting and encouraging... Toby Mac, BarlowGirl, 12 Stones and the like. But I knew tonight was different and needed a different approach. I found that Linkin Park (clean) did the trick.

I decided that I would walk briskly at 3 mph for a total of 30 minutes. But every five minutes, I was going to RUN as fast as I could for as long as I could, then take it back down to 3mph until the next five minutes came around. Wow! My first bout of running, I actually superseded my own expectations and actually ran around 1 minute to a minute-thirty seconds. I was shocked, believe you me. My fasted speed topped out at 6.3.

I can't tell you how proud I am of myself!!! I think next time, I'll either start faster and gradually back off the speed. Or, don't try to do so much at one time and just jog for a bit at a lower speed instead of booking it on a faster speed. Regardless, I'll figure something out. And who knows, I might just become a runner. Stranger things have happened!!

"You're life is an occasion... rise to it."
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

6 comments:

Melissa said...

Great job, Mer! You can definitely become a runner. You might alternating jogging at 3.5 mph for five (or three) minutes and walking briskly at 3 mph to begin with. When that becomes "easy"—and it will!—step it up by .5 mph. So glad you're feeling strong and healthy!

Poet4Him77 said...

That's a great suggestion! Thanks, Melissa! I would like to become a runner; it'll just take some time. The last time I enjoyed running, I was 16. That was a while ago, but it was also when I was in the best shape of my life. Related? I think so. :)

Seriously Though?!? said...

I am proud of you. It takes guts to set goals that stretch your limits. Congrats and kuddos to you...from one trying to get healthy to another. You are an inspiration.

Rachel said...

Great job! My husband runs, and I used to. . . it's a weird thing - it seems completely unattainable, but when you pt some effort in, like you did, it becomes very doable. Congrats!

Poet4Him77 said...

Mike, thanks for your encouragement! It's neat that others are finding inspiration in me, but whatever you see in me, is all God. He's the one who gave me legs to walk and the willpower to do more than I ever thought possible. Times like tonight when I'm sore, I'm thankful that I have legs to be sore. Sorry, tangent. I just started thinking about how grateful I am for my health.

Poet4Him77 said...

Rachel, thanks so much! I never, in a million years thought I'd enjoy cardio, much less be conditioning and teaching my body to run!! Miracles really do happen! I can't wait for the day when I jog/run for a solid length of time and not feel like my lungs are going to explode after. haha