My blog-friend OTC (mentioned in last post) has begun a running program called "The Couch-to-5K Running Plan". Her commitment to get in shape has inspired me! As you know, I am still engaged in the battle for BB 07, and I do visit the gym at least 4 times a week. I do cardio every time, and alternate between working my upper and lower body with each visit.

Altogether, I'd say I do a pretty respectable job of working up a sweat. I have noticed some great new muscle tone developing, and overall, I look leaner and trimmer. There is just one little problem . . . there is still fat everywhere!

Okay, maybe not everywhere. But I'm sure most of you female readers understand what I am going through, here. I used to be very fit and ran for an hour almost every day, and then did weights AND another half hour of cardio after that. Five days a week . . . back when I had no life!! Nowadays, I am a very busy girl who is just trying to stay healthy and fit and is struggling to find the time to do even that!

The problem isn't so much my physical condition now-- I mean, it's not that bad. It's just that once you've had a taste of being at your fitness peak, of fitting into anything you try on and looking great, of getting compliments all the time on your shape, well, it's hard to go back. This is what I'm referring to when I say that I'm sure most female readers understand this feeling- it's the knowledge that you aren't what you used to be, and it's hard to come to grips with.

So, in the endeavor to put aside my feelings of frustration and self-loathing everytime I look longingly at the tiny pairs of jeans littering my closet that I just can't quite do up anymore, I have taken up this running plan with OTC as my accountability partner! Though I don't think that either of us are quite at the point where we are going from the couch, as the name of the plan suggests, I am taking comfort in the fact that if the plan is made for couch potatoes, it can't be that hard!

I just got home from doing my first workout of week two. I'm feeling good, and hoping that this will be the kickstart that my little self-help body-scultping regime needs. After all, it is March and I seem to have plateaued at a weight loss of 10 pounds since the beginning of the year that I just can't seem to budge past. Sometimes a bit of variety is all you need to push yourself past that roadblock. Let's keep our fingers crossed that turning back to running once more is just the variety I need!