Pushing through to make your goals

The funny thing about making and achieving goals, is that they can start to change, day by day, as you get stronger, believe in yourself and believe in what you can do.  Losing weight and all the ways to get there constantly changes.  I, for one, don't think I can do it alone.  At this point in my life, I need the support of my friends, the gamer friends, to keep me motivated and accountable.

This week was a bit monumental for me with my goals.  I have never really loved to run...and this story will not end with me falling in love with running.  I LOVE to dance Zumba-style...even if I look ridiculous.  I want to learn to Salsa with my husband, and hopefully, by the end of the summer, using a Groupon we purchased, we will do just that.  I played basketball as a kid.  But I never enjoyed the act of running.

Running has always been something my husband has done.  He enjoyed it; he ran long distances; he felt good afterwards.  He loved to run.  I tried to do it with him a couple of times in the 24 years we have been together...and, I didn't like it.  I walked and I would do other things, but running...no thank you.

With this game, you do things you never thought you would do.  Some friends, NEVER drank water...ever.  Now, to have less than 100 ounces a day is unreal!  Some, never exercised.  Some, never lost weight.  Or didn't keep it off.  Or felt so deprived, they couldn't continue.  Like I said, many of us are doing things right now that we have never done before.  And, here, is where running came in for me.

I have "interval" trained.  Run a little, walk some more, run a little, walk some more, run a little, take a swig of water, oh good, times up.  One of my closest friends, who has weight loss journeyed with me through several yo-yo cycles (she too, has participated in the "let's try this one, this week!" plan) has been a "runner."  She doesn't head out for a 6 miler every day, but she is in good shape, and has lost a lot of weight in the past 10 months and has been with me all of the way.  She walked me through what she thought I was missing to run more than an interval. 

I will admit, my brain was pretty sure that I could not do it.  I could run 1/4 of a mile in the neighborhood or on the treadmill, but then would walk.  My friend's advice was a bit like this:
1.  Hold your arms looser...takes more energy to hold them to your sides stiffly...kind of let them go.
2.  After your warm-up walk, start your run slower than your interval runs (which were not super fast, but too fast to maintain for me right now), but so that you are still breathing properly and could talk if someone was running with you.
3.  As you are running your slow pace, with your arms a bit floppy, push through the first time you feel the need to stop.  It is not painful, you are breathing okay, and you will be done faster, if you JUST, KEEP, RUNNING.

And I did.  The following day.  That very thing.  And I ran 1.1 miles without stopping.  And the morning after that, I ran 1.0 miles on the treadmill.  And then, today, two days after the second day, I ran almost a 1 1/2 miles (downhill, but that still counts, right...and it was a faster pace because I was with long legged friends and proving to myself I could keep up).

These runs have put me in a really good place.  I feel great about what is in front of me...  I can't do this by myself right now.  I need the support and accountability of my friends.  And, thank goodness, I have it!