Why I got back on the treadmill

I’m not a gym person.

I’ve never been that person that got my workout clothes on and happily headed to the gym. Don’t get me wrong: I’ve bought many a membership — many. I’m trying not to calculate what I’ve wasted over the years on memberships and exercise paraphernalia, because all I see is the handbags that could have been.

I begin with good intentions, but then I get there and I see actual fit people and my self-confidence disappears the way I wish the fat on my thighs would.

So, then I bought a treadmill. It’s big and has many buttons. It also has a family of dust bunnies currently making residence all around it. At least it did, until last night when I evicted said dust bunnies, and climbed on.

I’ve been meaning to start Couch to 5K (C25K) forever, and since I’m not getting any smaller just thinking about it, I bit the bullet last night. I downloaded a C25K iPhone app for free (there are many available but I downloaded C25K Free by zen labs). The great thing about using an app is it tells you what to do so you don’t have to keep track of the time. It tells you when to walk, when to jog and will take you right through the entire program — three days each week until the end.

The other great thing is you can have your own music playing or the TV on or whatever keeps you going for the 30 minutes of each session.

I could say that the first day was a breeze, but that would be a lie. I could have died last night — at least it felt like it. Death by treadmill — what an ugly way to go. It was definitely a lovely reminder of how out of shape I am.

What kept me going? As you can see above, I made myself a sign, and, yes, it’s spelled wrong, but that just adds to how much it amuses me. Also, I had a cheering section — a cute six-year-old and nine-year-old who stayed with me the entire time and told me not to give up. Now if I could bottle that little person enthusiasm, I’d be set for life.