C25K

I've been reading Carrie's journal since, I don't know, before her oldest child was born. I think he's seven now. Man. That's just freaky, isn't it? I don't remember how I stumbled upon the site. And, honestly, I don't know what keeps me going back. Don't get me wrong, Carrie is a fine writer, but in the end I have very little in common with her. Carrie is younger than me, more conservative, and a stay-at-home Mom. It's funny how you can get drawn into someone's life, isn't it? One compelling entry and seven years later there you still are. Or there I still I am anyway.

Carrie has given birth to two little boys in the last seven years and, in the process, like many of us, put on some weight. For the last year, she's been committed to a faithful diet and exercise regime and, as of now, has lost a total of 100 pounds.

You can experience her transformation and see her before and after and some in-between pictures at her photo set here. Be sure and observe the last photo in the set. I'm not sure you could tell she's the same person if you compare her today to some of her pre-weight loss photos.

Carrie's entre to the running world, like that many others, was the Couch to 5K Program. If you've been living under a rock and never heard of it, Couch to 5K or C25K, is an extremely gradual progression of jogging/walking work-outs designed to take even the most inactive of couch potatoes to a place where they can complete a 5K run in eight weeks.

I've been flirting with the idea of comitting myself to C25K for quite some time. As I told my girlfriend when we are at the theater to see SATC, "I've been thinking about that Couch to 5K Program..." And, when my friend looked at me expectantly, I finished, "...I think I'll just keep thinking about it."

It was good for a laugh.

But seeing Carrie's photos tonight, and knowing how much self-discipline and determination it's taken her to buckle down and lose a hundred pounds, makes me feel guilty. Guilty about the extra measly twenty pounds I've been gaining and losing and, often, ignoring since I quit smoking seven years ago.

So, yah, I am now beginning to think seriously about giving the program a try. It just might be time for me to take a big girl pill. In order to become a smaller (healthier) girl again.

Don't expect any unflattering let-it-all-hang-out photo sets out of me.

But I'll keep you posted.