One of my friends proposed that we jog in the mornings on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I, being of the sane mind, decided this would be a good start to the new year. Of course the biggest barrier was that I never really jogged much in the past. I've gone on treadmills and done cardio exercises such as jumping jacks and other various routines, but these were very small bursts throughout and probably would last no longer than 10 minutes. My treadmill days would be very infrequent and so starting a jogging routine at 7:15 AM on Tuesdays and Thursdays seemed extremely daunting. But I really wanted to get in shape.

Two of my friends and I now jog every Tuesday and Thursdays and today was the third day. I must say, I am shocked that I could jog more than a mile. Between 6th and 12th grade I remember having to run the mile in gym class and feeling like I'd die at the end of them. My times would vary between 9 to 12 minutes and I would be so out of it at the end that I would be close to falling asleep in class. I even remember this one time when I had like 3 hours of sleep because I played video games all night (yes, my bad) and then ran the mile in the morning. I pretty much passed out in history class and clearly remember the head nodding and none of what the teacher was lecturing. (Those were the good old days).

Anyways, I thought I'd just talk a bit about the experience so far. For those who don't exercise regularly and want to jog, don't attempt too much on Day 1.

Day 1

Seriously, we took a route that had a lot of elevation changes and I was sore and wanted to just tuck myself back into bed at the end. We had roughly 3 miles of a jog/walk (walking because I fail) so although I failed jogging the whole time, I think the first time was fairly successful! I think running a mile on Day 1 would have been better for me. I guess being pushed a bit more at least gave me some confidence. It also helps to have friends who can actually run more because they really helped motivate me to keep trying and they helped set a pace. Sure they would keep saying "You can do it!" even when my body was like "No, no, go on without me!" but it was still motivational and helpful!

Day 2

We ran roughly 2 miles on the second day. Pulled it back a bit to help me ease into running and it was great. We set a good pace and although near the end I was seconds away from giving up and walking, I decided to just pull through! We finished in roughly 25 minutes, which for a person who has done 9 to 12 minute miles and feeling dead afterward, feels like success! I was really happy with it, even though I know others who can do way better.

Day 3 (Today)

Today we ran roughly 3 miles in roughly 35 minutes. I ended up choosing a route which originally was 3.7 miles but we cut it down after my friends decided it could be too much. It was nice running around campus and although I slowed down near the 2-2.5 mile mark, they kept me motivated to at least keep jogging, but at a slower pace. Hopefully we can start going a bit faster now that I'm getting the hang of just pushing myself to go continuously!

Overall, after the third day, I'm feeling amazing! The past 3 Tuesdays and Thursdays, I've increased my productivity! We'd be back around 8 AM which is 2 whole hours before I normally wake up! That's 2 whole hours of reading, playing games, messing around on Facebook, reading blogs! Not only that, I emotionally and physically feel a lot better. Although I'm usually an optimistic person in general, I feel even more optimistic. I don't know how to describe it, but the past few days I'd feel like just randomly smiling and that, my friends, is a good thing! Success!

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