Sunday, March 12, 2006

Run, Danielle, Run

Well folks, today is a banner day, for I have gone where I've never gone before.... Or at least, ran a distance I've never run before. I did 7miles today, and here is the link: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=61518.

Yup, I'm feeling mighty fine about this accomplishment, and would like to thank everyone who helped make this possible: my mother and father who always believed in me, Hal Higdon for without his website I wouldn't have thought such a thing possible, WeightWatchers for instilling within me the belief that exercise is important and can be fun not to mention assisting me in losing 55 pounds (bleh-can you imagine running around carrying all that extra weight??), God above for watching over me, my dear, dear husband who keeps my natural inertia in check by reminding me how good I feel after a run and who is enjoying my new muscles right along with me :), and all the little people who's names I can't remember at this time....

OK-I know that I don't receive any kind of reward. Tim does applaud me when I achieve my fitness goals, and I do allow myself an extra snack, but that's it. And, of course, I'm just that much healthier and happier, which is the best reward.

So, during miles 5 and 6 I was thinking (which is my wont while jogging since I opt to run without headsets, kind of like a zen-meditation-thingy) about Tri-Geek Kahuna's question about "Why Tri?" and Fe Lady's reply which was a list of reasons. This got me to composing my own list of why I jog specifically and workout in general. Here it is:

Danielle's 15 Reasons for Exercising-

1)Weight management-Hey, I lost over 50lbs and I'm not going back there.
2)Fitness-I really like the fact that I can now walk up a flight of stairs and not be breathless or have achy knees.
3)Food-Hey, I used to weigh over 50lbs more because I like to eat, and I'm not ashamed to admit that exercise lets me eat a little bit more without gaining it all back.
4)Stress Reduction-It's true; running really lets me relax. Maybe it's all the hormones, maybe pounding the asphalt is reminscent of pounding in some heads, who knows.
5)Muscles-I've always wanted to be toned, and I'm on my way! My arms are nice-escpecially my biceps. Too bad you can't check out my legs, 'cuz they're pretty sweet. Which brings me to #6
6)MY BUTT-Oh, yeah, baby. When I was in my 20s, I had a nice stickin' out butt. I lost it when I was fat, and now that I'm running it's back and better than ever.
7)Push the Envelope-I remember when I started exercising, I was happy walking, which led to powerwalking. Eventually I thought that I was ready for jogging, so I would jog a block/walk a block, etc. for about 30 min. I was so excited the first time I ran 1/2 mi nonstop. Now I'm training for my first half marathon. :)Which leads me to...
8)Race Day!-With races coming up, I can't afford to slack. I'm so looking forward to jogging across the Golden Gate Bridge in July!
9)Bragging Rights-Natch. "So, what did you do this weekend?" "Me? I did a triathlon. What did you do?" ha!
10)Gotta Represent-Fellow joggers, during the week and on race day, are almost all white or black. Very few Latinos show up. Where are they? I see a lot of the men playing soccer or basketball and the women are usually walking the streets, pushing a stroller full of children and groceries. I'm sure in places where we make more money there are a bunch of brown people running, but not so much here in SB.
11)Stay in shape-because someday Tim and I are going backpacking and I don't want to embarass myself.
12)Cute clothes-Clothes are much cuter when they are smaller than a size 20, believe me.
13)Me time-exercising lets me get to know me better. While running, it's just me and me. It also allows me to give Tim some Tim-time.
14)Fun-Believe it or not, exercise is fun. Well, actually, the fun begins after the workout.
15)D'oh! I can't think of another reason to exercise! Wait, wait... Seeing myself as an athlete instead of a couch potato? Can that count? Sure, what the heck, it's my blog.

There you have it. Any other reasons??

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

WOW!! Seven miles! I am absolutely impressed. You rock! And I love your list of reasons. You didn't add this one to your list, but I know that you inspire other people like crazy, the kids and your colleagues both. Here's to that invincible feeling!

9:55 PM  

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