For the past 7 years, I’ve lead a very sedentary lifestyle. I sit for nearly 8 hours straight at my desk job, then I go home to make dinner and then I go to bed. I got winded going up a flight of stairs, my doctor warned me that my good cholesterol levels were poor and I often felt fatigued, lethargic and susceptible to all kinds of symptoms that a 20 something woman weighing 120lbs shouldn’t be experiencing. So what was my problem? I can be devastatingly lazy.

A lot of people would agree that committing to a workout routine is very difficult and requires a lot of dedication – and I can understand why people would feel that way. However, I’ve embraced my new jogging and yoga routine so completely and without hesitation, that’s it’s almost hard for me to believe. I’ve comitted myself to the Couch to 5k plan: 9 weeks jogging at least 3 times a week. I can barely jog for 2 minutes straight without my heart feeling like it might explode.

I can’t deny it is grueling, laborious and challenging. I pant and sweat and grimace and feel that delicious burning in my thighs and calves. I worry about my posture, my pace – Am I flailing my arms too much? Do I look like a runner? Am I running too fast? Am I breathing too hard? Are my boobs bouncing too much?

I always look forward to my Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule with a mix of dread and adventure . I want to run fast and I can’t. I want to run far and I can’t. But I will, someday, I will.

I registered for the 2008 Jingle Bell Walk/Run – a fund raising event benefitting the Arthritis Foundation. Runners attach bells to their shoes so that hundreds of tinkling bells fill the air on December 20th. I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of it and thorougly terrified that I won’t be able to reach me goal of running a 3.1 miles without melting.

After signing up for the 5k, I tried heading to the gym but I couldn’t stand the stale, solidarity of running on a mechanized tread for half an hour while nearby gym goers huffed and puffed at their reflections in the mirror. Why is there always an episode of Judge Judy playing on the TVs hanging overhead? I found the gym to be so insufferably boring and I couldn’t get over the strange, airy sensation of floating over the ground after getting off the treadmill. It just didn’t feel natural.

So, I decided to take advantage of the recent drop in Florida’s temperatures by starting my routine around my neighborhood. I bought a pair of Nike Zooms that were on sale at Lady Foot Locker, running apparel, an armband for my Ipod Nano and the very cool Nike + Ipod – a handy (and quite affordable) little transmitter that records your speed, time and other useful information. It even lets you know about your progress through your headphones or congratulates you when you’ve reached a goal (i.e. beat your personal record). It is, hands down, the best athletic purchase I’ve made by far and I’m completely obsessed with it.

Although Nike encourages the purchase of the Nike + Ipod with the Nike + Ipod + Sport Shoes, that all adds up to a lot of money. Especially since I had already purchased Nike shoes that I felt comfortable with. So, I searched for a hack that would connect the Nike transmitter to my shoe and discovered Podophile’s Velcro Hack. Using a piece of Velcro and some string, I attached the transmitter easily and securely to the tongue of my shoe. It is a quick fix considering the adhesive that’s connecting the Velcro to the transmitter will eventually come unglued – but for now, I saved myself about $100.00 in new shoes.

You’re going to hear me talk a lot about the Nike + Ipod and my progress throughout my training. In my sidebar, you can see the status of my past runs or sign up with your own Nike + Ipod and join me on some runs!

Seriously, how cute is my Nike + Mini?!

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