Can I Hack An Extreme 5K?

I'm kind of an on-again, off-again exerciser. My pants start to fit a little tight in the gut area and I start some sort of exercise regimen and change my eating habits (which in my mind means cereal for breakfast and lunch and then a semi-sensible dinner depending on my hunger level) until my pants fit again and then I start the process all over again. Eat like a slob, lounge around and collect fat deposits, oh darn my pants don't fit.....exercise.....you get the gist.  I don't even own a scale....it's all about the circumference of my waistline.

But I do have a go-to exercise guru who helps whip me into shape when I'm getting kinda tubby. My husband's best friend since first grade is the Jack Lalanne of our generation and he was on emergency dial when Steve and I first got married and I got, what some people refer to as, "fat and happy". That's when I was a newlywed and fitting into the dress and having a honeymoon beach body were behind me (along with my fake French manicured nails) and I would get home from work and realize I had not planned for dinner (again) and just throw a pot of pasta on the stove, some form of white whole grain depleted bread smothered in butter followed by a night of snuggling and lounging in front of the TV. It's during that evening ritual that I would pop myself some microwave popcorn and top it with two or three tablespoons of additional melted butter. And eat the whole bag.

Needless to say, guru had to set me straight and gave me a healthy eating plan and an exercise plan which I followed for eight weeks or so religiously, followed by a little gym membership dabbling here and there and maintained a healthy trouser looseness until I got pregnant with my first son almost five years later. 

After son one was born, there was absolutely no time or desire to work out and my pants not only became snug, but the next size up became snug as well. No matter. Didn't give it a second thought until after son two was born. That's when I began a series of fitness bootcamps run by guru. I vomited a little in my mouth during the first one. Which meant it was working. But the cycle continued and here I am having cereal for lunch and trying not to snack after 7pm. 

So, lounging on the couch a week ago the husband mentions to me that a couple friends were discussing running in a Rugged Maniac™, a 5K obstacle course race. Did I want to do it with him? Huh? "You know I don't run," I responded. It's kind of just a life choice. Some people don't lie or cheat. I don't run. I told him I'd think about it, having no intentions of thinking about it. 

But I did think about it. A lot. I thought about how when I was a young lass I could eat like a pig and still fit into those "junior" pants. And now that I'm 39 I eat one Swedish fish and people start asking me when the baby's due. And I thought about how spring is upon us and the beach outings thereafter, and I honestly thought about being....gasp.....healthy. Possibly being a good nutritional role model for my kids. Yeah, I'm not kidding anyone. The bathing suit thing was my main motivation. 

So this crazy-mother-running-through-mud-and-such thing happens in late September. Plenty of time to prepare. At the advice of my friend who responded to my "snap me out of this" plea on Facebook, I downloaded a Couch to 5K app and just completed my first of 8 weeks. (Remind me not to ask her for help bailing out of anything else.) So far it's pretty painless though. And perhaps what I really needed all along was a long-term fitness goal (yes, that's fitness guru speaking). I'll try to keep you posted as to how my training is going....if it lasts....but I really do want to finish this race. Yep, that's right, I'm all signed up.