What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger...

One of the things I love to whine about is the inevitable soreness that occurs 24-48 hours after I work out.  My personal trainer, Beth, tells me it’s called “delayed onset muscle soreness” or something like that. 

I like to call it “a giant pain in my butt”...(or legs...or arms...or back)...

Beth told me that the best was to get rid of the soreness is to stretch and do the same exercise that made you sore in the first place.  I was (and still am) hesitant to try this…but it totally works…every single time. 

So, when I woke up on Sunday with some pretty sore legs after running sprints at boot camp, I figured I should run a little bit to make myself feel better. 

Yes.  I said run.

A few weeks ago, Beth informed me I was going to start training to run a 5k.  It is something I've wanted to do for a while, so I was pretty excited…and also scared completely shitless. 

I have spent my entire life being afraid of running.  My personal feeling was that the only time one needed to run was if they were being chased…so I generally avoided it at all costs.  Beth had me start slow.  Walk for 2 minutes…run for 1 minute.  Repeat for 15 minutes at a time.  

I was so nervous that I made her stand next to the treadmill the first time.  But it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.  So, as time has gone by, I have been increasing my run time and decreasing my walk time by 30 seconds, hoping that someday I would be able to run for the whole 15 minutes without stopping.

So Monday morning, in my "post-12hour-night-shift" stupor, I hauled my butt to the gym and hopped on the treadmill for what I thought would be a quick, 15 minute “run/walk”.  I walked for a minute (while turning on my iPod) then upped the speed to 4.6 and started running...and watching Ellen.  (which happened to be on every single TV in the gym)

I think Ellen is hysterical.  I don’t get to see her show all the time but when I do, it thoroughly amuses me.  Maybe it’s her dancing, maybe it’s her quirkiness, or maybe it’s just the fact that every time I hear her voice I hear “Dory” from Finding Nemo.  I don’t really know, but yesterday she helped me obtain a goal I have wished I could do my entire life. 

I intended on running for 2 minutes at a time (my max up to that point) but Ellen thoroughly distracted me and when I looked down I had been running for 3….and I didn’t feel like I was going to die.

           

Holy. God. 

So, I started thinking.  

If I can run for 3 minutes, I can surely run for 5….so I did.

Then I figured, if I can run for 5 minutes, I can certainly run for 10…so I did. 

After running for 10 minutes I decided I would try to run for 20, thinking I would make it for at least 15.

I don’t know if it was adrenaline, Ellen’s humor, or my lack of sleep, but I refused to stop and when the timer on the treadmill hit 20 minutes, I was so excited I nearly cried!  After doing 60 crunches (again, I think it was the adrenaline) I booked it to my car and immediately texted Beth about my accomplishment.  I was just so proud of myself.

As of today, I’m down 120lbs.  The things I can do now never cease to amaze me.  With every new thing I can do, I am reminded that having this surgery was the best decision of my entire life.  

Me in my brand new Lululemon groove pants!  (A birthday gift from a friend)  I absolutely LOVE them and think they make working-out just that much more fun!  (and they make my butt look pretty nice, too!  : )