Tales of a former couch potato

It’s so quiet.

Although, I have to say, I’m pretty torn about how I feel about that. The day-to-day hustle and bustle has already died down and things are quite serene on the third floor. And in the quiet (but far from peaceful) moments, I have time to focus on how sore my legs are from the four miles I walked yesterday.

Yes, that’s right…I trudged four long miles from the public library to Vilano and back. That incline on the bridge is a killer for my out of shape chubby legs. Yet, I’ve been doing it once a week for about four or five weeks now. But this is the first time I have done it that I didn’t want to die afterward. My legs were cooperative and didn’t practically give out halfway up the bridge. But, the most impressive part of all — I actually ran part of it. And it feels so good.

Let me explain. See, I was never the most athletic kid in school. My elementary school didn’t even have P.E. It was more like a disorganized melee of tag, jump rope and Red Rover. The first time I played an organized sport was in 5th grade when I tried softball for a season. That only lasted until my best friend moved to Texas. Her mom was my chauffeur to practice and without a ride, I was stuck at home on the couch watching Nickelodeon.

Once I hit high school, things took a turn when I discovered a hidden talent for volleyball. There was just one problem…I can’t serve. Since that’s kind of vital to the sport, I ended up on the couch again. Now that’s not to say I’ve always been out of shape. A couple of years ago, I was walking three miles four days a week and I was in quite good shape. But as of late, my idea of exercise has been watching “The Biggest Loser” and “Celebrity Fit Club” on TV.

So why am I telling you all this? Well, in my walking-induced ambitious state (and with a little needling from a coworker) I am attempting to run a 5K next month.

Yes, I said run. My intent is to document this goal, so that I can’t back out without looking like a total loser (especially since I’m so good at doing that in other ways). At the very least I will walk it, but my goal is to run.

Wish me luck, and please don’t honk at me if you see me walk/running the Vilano bridge. The last time I got honked at I nearly jumped over the edge. I’d really rather get the running thing down before I take up diving.