Chasing down a slimmer me

Before she wasn’t even in sight but now I can see her. She is in the far off distance and she has the energy to run around with my kids. And that is keeping me moving. I have been “running” for the last few months on and off but have been trying to get serious about it the past few weeks or so. I use the term running loosely because I am doing this run/walk program type thing to build up my endurance, which is nonexistent, and because I have never run before now. I am following a program from some running guy and it was going pretty well until I had to run for five minutes straight. I thought I would die before I was even close to the five-minute mark. Although I lived my motivation died a quick but horribly painful death. A couple of girls I work with are runners of the stick thin variety. They have offered for me to go running with them but I would sooner nail one foot to the ground and run in circles for eternity. I keep trying to explain to one of them that trying to heft all this extra weight on these thick but feeble legs is just not working out for me and that I am unable to get past the three minute run mark. I tell her that it is the equivalent of her carrying me while she runs. She of course finds that hysterical the skinny bitch. I say this in good fun because she has really been helpful with her faith in me. I get into all of this because last night she challenged me to run five minutes one time in my “3 minute run/3 minute walk five times” cycle. She said to picture myself chasing after her so I could kick her ass for even suggesting it. So after I put Sophia down for her morning nap I reluctantly got on the treadmill wanting to do it but preparing myself to fail. Instead of picturing my friend, I pictured the slimmer me I was talking about before. Well I didn’t run five minutes…I ran six and then I ran four 3-minute cycles. (Right now in pure joy I am doing the cabbage patch dance.) I did not find “THE ZONE” that everyone who runs talks about but I did discover the runner’s high. That feeling that I accomplished something. Despite the monotony of running on a treadmill I actually got somewhere. I feel pretty damn cool right now.