Dear Self, I am so proud of you! Keep up the good work!

Like many people, I struggle with getting exercise into my daily routine. First, there is the time issue. I really need more hours in the day. Then you consider the fact that I get bored of doing the same thing especially if there is no end or goal in sight. Add in 100 degree weather with 100% humidity and it makes driving home from work seem like a fairly good workout. Sweat was involved!

Like those same people, I also know that for my health and for general life enjoyment I really need to take better care of myself and (unfortunately?) that involves exercise. So this time around I decided to do one of the Couch-2-5K plans. I wasn't sure how long I could stay committed but so far so good! I am now into my 5th week of work and I was really pumped that I ran for 5 minutes straight last night. I am taking the program slower than it is written, but I am ok with that as long as I am progressing. So I am just starting week 4 on the chart. It wants you to run 5 mins, walk 2.5 mins, run 3 mins, walk 1.5 mins, then repeat. I ran the same total number of minutes but I had to spread it out more and run in shorter spurts. The thing is, before I started last night I did not think that I could run for 5 mins. without stopping. But I did and I am really proud of myself!!! So within the next week and a half I hope to have mastered Week 4.

While I was running that LONG 5 minute stretch, I kept thinking it would be funny if there were a group of people around me hollering encouragement and telling me that I could do it. Instead Valerie Lawson and Bob Howell continued to babble on about the local news. A couple of hours later, Xzibit (this really interesting rapper person) provided me with the perfect solution.

Xzibit used to have this show called Pimp My Ride on MTV. He would take a person's pitiful, old, beat up, mess of a car and "pimp it out". He would put all kinds of cool gizmos in it and paint it really wild and add 22s or some other desirable tire. Oddly enough I came across a re-run of a Pimp My Ride episode and he made the girl a box with encouraging statements and all she had to do was hit a button in her car and this voice would come through the speakers and say things like, "You sure do look beautiful today" or "With your positive attitude, success is sure to find you". Those may not be the exact self-affirming statements they used, but you get the idea. So anyway, I really need a self-affirming, cheer-me-on box. And I really think everyone I know could use one.

So, for now, I will self-affirm myself this way...Dear self, I am so proud of you! Keep up the good work and Week 4 will be as easy as Week 1 in no time!