Up to speed

At the beginning of the year, I made sure to mention I wasn't making any promises or resolutions regarding getting in shape or losing weight. I figured there was enough other stuff to worry about until May that trying to focus on getting in shape was not the sort of drama I needed to add.

Well, I have not gained a single pound this year. That's the good news.

The bad news is I gained so much in 2008 that it's really starting to affect me on a daily basis. I'm finding it harder to get around, and I'm finding it more difficult to do things I used to take for granted.

I even had trouble last week doing some wind sprints with Alex at Kennesaw Mountain - which is a bad sign, because if I'm having trouble keeping up with a four-year old on a small path, what will that mean for when the kids are older or we're in a much bigger place (say, New York or Disney or Las Vegas or somewhere else just as noisy).

Getting stitches or out of breath doing simple tasks is not what I'd planned on, so it's really time for me to start looking at losing weight again. I had done a decent job of that during my previous job search - but that period of renewed activity ended almost 18 months ago and I've gained 40 pounds since then. Since I'm not pregnant, that's a problem.

I've had a site bookmarked on my computer for a while, but perhaps next week might be the time to start doing it. It's an article called the "Couch to 5K Running Plan". Even though I've been disdainful of running in the past it might be time to finally give it a go. I don't need to do strength training, I need to lose this damn fat which would last a bear through the winter.

Ideally, in a couple of months (nine weeks, really), you'd be able to run/jog for 30 minutes, starting out tiny and gradually working your way up. I know this isn't rocket science for a lot of people, but frankly I never really have tried any sort of regimented running program. Whenever I worked out before, it was with weights, Nautilus machines, or bike machines.

I didn't run. I hated running. I still do. Even when prepping for the police fitness exam, I hated it, which probably helps explain why I missed the cutoff time on the 1.5 mile run despite dropping 10 pounds getting in better shape for the test.

So, there are nine weeks in this program, and nine weeks in the semester. I guess I'd probably do this on Tuesdays and Thursdays between work and picking up the kids, and then maybe Saturday or Sunday around the local track or neighborhood.

Yes, Georgia State has a big fitness center. But I'm barely making it to class as is, so fitting a workout in between a full workday and six hours of classes on Monday and Wednesday is not a practical solution, and I don't want to add an hour plus of round-trip driving every time I go to work out.

I'm not really sure of all the dynamics. Or if I'll even want to stick to this after a week.

I do know that being out of shape is starting to have a dramatic effect on my everyday activity and actions, and I don't really enjoy being so inactive. At least, I don't enjoy it anymore.

So, we'll see how it goes. I'll probably start it next Tuesday. Hopefully I'll keep it for more than one session.