Delay

I have delayed my run/walk intervals for another week. There were a few days when I didn't get to walk, and I am determined to do this the "right" way. I feel that if I can't even walk for 8 days without missing a day, then I'm not ready to continue to the next stage. I need to prove my dedication to this, especially in the beginning. Today is Thursday, and I have walked the last 4 days. If all goes well, Monday should be my first day of the intervals.

iPod Playlist

My Rocky Workout

1 - Fanfare for Rocky - Bill Conti
2 - Rocky's Reward - Bill Conti
3 - Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
4 - Training Montage - Vince DiCola
5 - It's a Fight - Three 6 Mafia
6 - Redemption (Theme from Rocky II) - Bill Conti
7 - Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky) - Bill Conti
8 - Burning Heart - Survivor
9 - Conquest - Bill Conti
10 - Living in America - James Brown
11 - No Easy Way Out - Robert Tepper
12 - War - Vince DiCola
13 - Heart's On Fire - John Cafferty
14 - Going the Distance - Bill Conti

Nothing, and I mean nothing, gets me pumped up for exercise more than the music featured in the Rocky films. My personal favorite, Rocky IV, is heavily featured and highlighted in the mix. I have strategically placed certain songs in this mix to coincide with certain sections of my workout. The first 5 minutes comprise the first two songs, and are my warm-up music. Let me tell you, these two tracks have contain everything I need to get excited about my coming walk/jog/run. Then, when Eye of the Tiger starts... I pick up the pace and start my 'real' workout. This mix is actually much too long for what will become my usual routine. So, within this mix is actually two complete workout playlists. The first starts with track one (the fanfare) and ends with track ten (james brown). The alternate playlist begins with track seven (gonna fly now) and ends with track fourteen (going the distance). I'm not sure I will ever find better workout music than this. Highly recommended!

Goals

Okay, let's talk specifics. I am found a great plan on runnersworld.com that takes you from walking to running for 30 minutes at a time in 10 weeks. This plan is a bit more accelerated than my previous attempt, but I think I can handle it. It is very much for beginners, and seems to be a good fit for me. The plan starts with 8 days of walking. I have already begun this stage, and only have three days left until I start the next phase... run/walk intervals. On Monday, I will start a run 2 minutes/walk 4 minutes routine for 30 minutes, which is 5 cycles. I will warm up and cool down with five minutes of walking on each end. Those are the immediate goals that I look forward to. I don't anticipate having a very difficult time with these last three walking days, but I'm sure the run/walk intervals will be challenging.

Next Post: Ipod playlist

Purpose

My previous attempt at fitness had a clear purpose of overall health and weight loss. I am 5'8" and weighed 168 pounds when I started. I actually lost 10 pounds in about six weeks. Suprisingly, even after reverting back to sedentary living, I have managed to keep this weight off. I now weigh 157 pounds, and further weight loss will be most welcome. However, I can't say that losing weight is my purpose for this new plan. So, what is it? Why am I going through all the trouble? Why do I want to run a marathon next year? What is the purpose? Well, the main reason I want to do this is to increase my overall happiness. See, I am hoping that becoming physically active will have a snowball effect and create some positive momentum in my life. This momentum/energy will be used to clean up some messy areas of me. Along with this "momentum", I hope to experience increased energy, stamina, mental clarity, spiritual awakening, physical strength, self-discipline, self-esteem, and motivation. That is my purpose... for now. Throughout this journey, I will be open to this purpose changing.

Next Post: Some short and long-term goals

History

Earlier this year, I began a simple diet and exercise routine that was semi-successful. I only stuck with it for about six weeks, but those were the best six weeks I'd had in years. I monitored everything that I ate with a web program called FitDay and did running/walking intervals that got progressively more challenging week after week. At first, I could barely walk for 30 minutes at a time without being out of breath. But, as the weeks went on my body began to adapt and become more fit. I could feel the changes as they were happening. This made me very, very happy. I had a real sense of completeness, as being active and healthy has always been the lifestyle I wanted. Then, one day I cheated on my diet and didn't exercise. That zapped the momentum out of my program. It all unraveled very quickly. Then I realised it had been a week since I exercised. That week became two, three weeks... then a month, two months passed... and here we are four months later. I have reverted back to my sedentary, pizza eating, beer swiggling, bourbon guzzling, non-active, non-healthy self. Needless to say, it has been a dark, dark four months for me. I have decided that there is no better time to switch back into exercise mode than right now.

Next Post: Purpose for running

Welcome Readers!

This is the first entry on what I hope will be an ongoing journal of my journey from completely sedentary to running a marathon next year. I will try to touch on some related subjects such as diet, food, health, motivation, spirituality, and inspiration as I hope to be completely transformed by this. I hope to post photographs, videos, web links, and ipod playlists when appropriate.

Next Post: My history with exercise