I'm currently running--er, well, shuffle-staggering, really--which is totally strange. All my life, when I was a ballet dancer, when I was a volleyball player, when I was on a swim team, when I used to bike five miles to work over the Queensboro Bridge--I HATED RUNNING. Hated it. Couldn't do it, wouldn't force myself. Barfed at the thought. The fastest mile I ever ran was like 14 minutes. And that was only because my volleyball coach forced me to.

I can't understand it, but I am LOVING my morning hour long ordeals. I currently just walk for five minutes and run(hah!) for three, rinse repeat. And I look forward to it. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!

Anyhow, I want to hear all your exercise stories, and recommendations! What do you like best? What do you maybe hate to do but find really effective?

Any running converts out there?

Well as tomorrow is my 67th birthday my exercise regime is as follows:

The Doctor told me, I should start an exercise program.
Not wanting to harm this old body, I've devised the following:

MONDAY

Beat around the bush
Jump to conclusions
Climb the walls
Wade through the morning paper

TUESDAY

Drag my heels
Push my luck
Make mountains out of mole hills
Hit the nail on the head

WEDNESDAY

Bend over backwards
Jump on the Band Wagon
Run around in circles

THURSDAY

Advise the President on how to run the country
Toot my own horn
Pull out all the stops
Add fuel to the fire

FRIDAY

Open a can of worms
Put my foot in my mouth
Start the ball rolling
Go over the edge

SATURDAY

Pick up the pieces!!!

SUNDAY

Kneel in prayer
Bow my head in thanksgiving
Uplift my hands in praise
Hug someone and encourage them.

Whew! What a workout!
It's enough to tire one out for a long time!!
I try to use Sundays' schedule each day of the week...

GOD Bless You & Have a WONDERFUL day !!!

---------------------------------------------------
On a more serious note I walk and I ride a bicycle (real one not stationary)

Larry,

Larry, that was wonderful! Thank you so much for the great big grin I have on my face at the moment!

Mojojuju, the only thing I can think is that you have had some bleeding-edge computer chip implanted in your brain and our government is very secretly training you to be either our next SuperSpy or our next Olympic curling champion. In either case, there are GREAT things in your future (and that part is true, thanks to your own determination.)

As for why you are loving it --- some people really do thrive on challenging themselves and I think you might be one of them. You should make a note of that somewhere, so if you hit a plateau or a period where things just seem harder than they need to be, you can spring some tough, short-term, really-kick-your-butt challenge to get you moving again.

Did I mention that I am really impressed? Running sounds ...well .... impossible! At least right now.

I don't have any sort of exercise plan yet, unless you call raising a bottle of ice water exercise. Oh wait --- that still wouldn't be a plan, would it? I look forward to reading what other people are up to in this area.

Oh and hey? GOOD FOR YOU!!

Yeah, it does sound impossible, even for me, and I'm somehow doing it! The program I'm on is a day-by-day instructional thing for eight weeks. The goal is that at the end of 8 weeks you can run for about half an hour without stopping. It works you in gradually. I'm in week 3, and by the end of my week I will still be walking more than running.

But you know what? It's amazing how much I already CAN run, just from being consistent and following the guide. I am scared that I will fall behind in it, since I don't think it's for obese people, but I'm gonna just give it my all and see what happens. Worst case scenerio as I see it is that I repeat a week in the guide to get myself ready for the next, more challenging week.

I can link you the free website I use if you're interested. Having a guide to follow seems to have made a big difference in both my motivation and consistency in doing this. I mean, if you had told me two months ago that I'd be running an hour a day five days a week I'd have laughed at you and then eaten another cupcake.

I would be very interested in the link --- thanks!

Two months ago? Did you only start all this TWO months ago? You are rocking! And inspiring --- where will I be two months from now?

I can definitely relate. I've always hated running with a burning passion. I used to be able to sprint pretty quickly, but never enjoyed it. My fastest mile time in 9th grade was 9 min, 15 sec.

Well, now I can run an 8.5 min mile! I started by running a lap, walking a lap, etc. and graduated to being able to run through. I still don't run very often, but I just absolutely love the runners high I get. I prefer lower impact exercise, but nothing beats when sweat is pouring down you and your heart is pounding, and you've made it! It's crazy how quickly the transformation happens, too. You go girl!

Larry - I just bookmarked this thread so I can come back and read your post anytime I'm not sure what my workout should be for the day. I love it! And Happy Birthday!

Mojo - I admire you because running is the thing I will never like doing. I even hate having to run in place for a few minutes in a cardio class. I never liked running in my younger days and really dislike it now. I hope there is never a need for me to run to save myself, because I have to assume I'm doomed! I have some minor knee issues, too, and I hate the thought of stressing them.

As far as what I like - mostly I enjoy classes at my gym - Turbo Kick is my current favorite.

Lin

Me, me, me! I NEVER in a million years thought I'd look forward to running! I'm already researching local 5K walk/runs, because I know if I pay the fee, I'll continue with the training.

I live in the Phoenix area, and it's WAY too hot to do much of anything outside these days. I do a lot of running in place with the Wii Fit free runs. I guess you'd call it more huffing and puffing along, but I am now able to do stationary running without stopping for 30 minutes. This is a HUGE accomplishment for me.

I'm looking forward to the weather getting a little cooler (by October!) so I can begin to do some actual pavement running. Until then, I'm really excited about the progress I've made AND the excitement I have for it!

Skinny in Oz: Not months. WEEKS. Weeks! It's utterly mad. I can't believe how much better I feel now I've been committing to this. Here's the link:

runningplanet.com/training/beginning-runner-program.html

(just cut and paste it and add h t t p etcetera to the beginning without the spaces, of course. Or use google, yay google! I can't post links yet, too new, hee hee)
Like I said, it's very doable. I am in the middle of week 3 and I can't wait to try the Thursday workout and see how I do--5 mins walking, 4 mins jogging, omg! If I can't handle it I'm going to repeat this week before going on and just turn it into a 9 week program. Or 10 week. Gonna take my time either way, but the guide really helps me keep track of a goal for the workout.

linJber: I know exactly what you mean. That was me till...well...two and a half weeks ago. Woah!

CorinneIrine: I wish I had a track nearby--it would help me figure out exactly how far I am running each day. I do know that, even in the short time I've been at it, my times have been getting shorter and shorter--I'm going to have to extend my route somehow to keep my 60 min time! I wanna run an 8.5 min mile, that's awesome!

1049jess: I'm in Florida, so I feel your pain--just add humidity! Actually, if I don't get my butt out of the door soon it will be impossibly hot and I won't do so well.

Off I go! Thanks for the inspiration, everyone, and I still wanna hear more about what people like! I'm lookin in particular for good, fun video recommendations.

============WHOOOOOSH!

Wow! What was that thing? It was moving so fast as it went past me, I couldn't tell..... HEY! It was Mojojuju, the crazy running machine heading out into the heat and humidity.

GO MOJOJUJU GO!

(And thanks for the link!)

I'll run if something is chasing me

I used to hate exercise, couldn't stand to sweat, but NOW??? Honestly, I don't know what happened...*I* have become one of *those* people that actually enjoys working out. I LOVE my strength training workouts (three times a week I am sweating my tukus off with the gym dudes because I am almost always the only female in the weight room) AND three times a week I am shaking my tukus at Zumba. And I sweat. A LOT. And I love it. Go figure, LOL! What I have realized, is that my workouts must be challenging and fun.

Mojojuju- I am a jogging convert. I NEVER thought I would be able to jog, then last year around this time I started hearing about c25k (Couch to 5K). Then I stopped jogging over the winter and started up again at the end of May. I am now training for a 1/2 marathon! I may be the slowest one on the course, but I plan on jogging the entire time.

Sigh I need a change! I use to lead aerobics back in the day and really enjoyed it. Now I'm getting bored with it but I think it's the music and moves associated with the Wii Fitness coach, I need something to motivate me more. I do this 3-4 times a week with muscles training which includes pushups, free weights, abs etc. I LOVE strength training I always have and have always sweated more in strength training than in cardio. Cardio is hard on my heels cause of my weight plus I have a heel spur, and my sciatic nerve (which got all messed up with my last pregnancy) I don't know about running but I think I need to find a video with kick *** music and something fun, cause monotany drives me crazy! I think I'm going to look into Turbo Jam or something.

What a great thread! Let's see my favorite form of torture is riding my bicycle. I get up at 4:00 am M-F and workout (alternate days with pilates, WATP, yoga, weights and bicycling). I ride my bike on the trainer two days during the work week (12 miles) and then off to the hills on the weekend (50 miles). I have a goal of riding a metric century (65-mile ride) next March and a full century (100-mile ride) next April. Since I have some funky knees (years of running) I enjoy the workout I get with bicycling, without causing more damage to my knees. There is nothing like riding out in the country and really observing life, and working out at the same time.