Jan. 19 Update: Inner pep talks keep me going!

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January 19, 2010

By Lorie Love Hailey The Richmond Register Tue Jan 19, 2010, 12:20 PM EST

I can�t believe we�re already in week four of our journey to run a 5K and become healthier women. It has gone by quickly and I am really enjoying each week�s new challenge.

Week Four in the C25K program includes the most running I�ve ever done. I did the first session Monday with my husband and dog at a dog park in Lexington. Yeah, you read it right. I made my run even more challenging by having to be on the lookout for piles of dog excrement. This particular dog park is on Newtown Pike and is kind of hilly, which also added to the challenge.

The first five minute run was difficult, but I kept my slow, steady pace and was happy when it was time to walk again. The next run was three minutes, and it didn�t go well. I felt like all of the energy had been sapped out of me and I was having trouble picking up my feet.

I gave myself a pep talk, kept trudging and eventually picked up speed. The 90 seconds of walking afterward was not nearly long enough!

I finished the last five minutes of running by having a constant inner pep talk. I imagined Jillian Michaels from Biggest Loser yelling at me. I imagined a more toned, firmer version of myself. I thought about crossing the finish line at the 5K race. And before I knew it, I had finished the five minute interval with no problems.

My dog ran about three times as much as Steve and I, and she was ready to go home. I was ready to eat!

I�m loving my new commitment to exercise, but staying committed to our goals and attacking them every day has not been easy. Each day must be planned out to insure that we�ll be able to get things accomplished. There have been bumps along the way, for sure. Missed classes, tardy arrivals and days where we absolutely think the last thing we want to do is exercise.

But something magical happens when we push through and stick to our commitment: We are healthier and our drive to get stronger is growing.

The truth is, exercise feels really good. OK, maybe not while you�re in the plank position in Pilates class feeling that your going to come crashing down because your arms can�t hold you up any longer, or when you�re doing squats and feeling the burn in your legs. But afterward, the sense of well-being and accomplishment are energizing.

In fact, what I think is most amazing, is how I feel about myself.

I�ve long battled negative self-talk. My head says, �You�ll never be good enough.� �That fat roll will never go away.� �You might as well give up. You�re not strong.�

But when I am taking the action � when I am getting up in the morning and making exercise a priority, I feel better about myself. �I am strong,� I say after crashing down on the Pilates mat because I can�t hold myself up any longer. �I can run,� I say as I finish a five-minute jog in the C25K program.

What a good life! I thank God for giving it to me and creating a body so well designed, so capable to meet life�s challenges.

I hope you�re joining us on your own quest to health and happiness.

To comment on this blog, go to Lorie's blog site at lorielovehailey.wordpress.com.

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Couch to 5K Blog

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Frost sparkled across the grass at Keeneland on Saturday morning as runners gathered around the barns, stretching and jogging to warm their muscles up. And I was one of them.

Lorie, her husband Steve and I forfeited our day to sleep in to run our first 5K race since beginning our training in January. We participated in “Run for the Hill” benefit race for Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Center.

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Jan. 19 Update: Inner pep talks keep me going!

A recent health ranking listed Madison County as the 20th healthiest county in the state. It measured factors such as exercise, access to health care and smoking. Do you smoke cigarettes?

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