Let’s Get Physical: Week 6 (The Final Cut)

On 06/09, I wrote about my decision to get in shape in a post entitled “Let’s Get Physical.” My decision was based, in part, on the fact that I was out of shape to the point that walking up multiple flights of stairs winded me.I’ll be using a combination of diet and exercise to accomplish my get-in-shape-semi-quickly goal, and I’ll be following the Couch-to-5K Running Plan (starting with week 4), and “Nutrition and Hydration for Runners.”This is a continuation of Let’s Get Physical tracking my progress after the final week of my program.

…

Well, it’s been nearly 3 weeks since I last posted anything, largely because I have been avoiding the inevitable final post of my personal quest of getting physical. I knew that I couldn’t (in good conscience) post anything else lest a month and a half of work and hype simply get swept under the rug. I wish I could say that my last run was a glorious triumph, akin to Rocky climbing the courthouse steps, arms raised and bouncing in a joyous celebration as the angels sang “Getting Stronger!” But alas, it wasn’t.

Instead, I cut out a day early, skipping my final run and heading to Illinois for a friend’s wedding (“Getting Stronger!”). I ended up staying there a while and really haven’t been on a run since. However, this does not mean that all is lost, or that this particular exercise was in vain. Nay!, quite the opposite. I am feeling phenomenally better, and I can walk up stairs, several in fact, without getting winded. I walked the mile or so between my hotel and the conference I attended in St. Louis this weekend several times, and felt great doing it.

It has also come to my attention that the scale I have been using doesn’t work very well at all. Instead of the 190 it was weighing me at, I am actually five pounds lighter. And although 185 is decidedly closer to my goal, I still have a ways to go, not to mention the fact that I don’t really even know what my weight was when I started.

As far as my soda fast, that met its demise at the hands of the sweet nectar of life: Dr. Pepper. This is not to say that I plan on making soda my drink of choice. Rather that I will drink soda, but always in moderation. One thing I certainly learned over the course of getting physical is the importance of water and hydration. Staying properly hydrated is an essential part of feeling good.

So, final thoughts: was it worth it?

The answer is decidedly, emphatically, and whole-heartedly yes. Being able to run a 5K might probably won’t land me any major endorsements anytime soon (fingers crossed!), but I certainly do feel better. Feeling better = living better, and who doesn’t want a better life? I would encourage anyone (and everyone) to heed the advice of Ms. Newton-John like I did and start a wellness project of their own.