Whew!

Anyone who knows me "IRL" knows that my boyfriend is a recently accepted navy recruit - we're both a little out of shape (okay, for me, a LOT) and so he is trying to get ready for his departure for basic in November. Being the good, supportive girlfriend that I am (right, honey?), I agreed to go for a walk/run with him last night. I suspect that this will eventually be a full blown run to beat our time and all of that other intense stuff that runners like to do, but for the time being it was about 50/50 high speed walk with some jogging, running and a bit of sprinting.

I don't like running. I'll just come out and say it. I don't like it because I have so much extra weight hanging on that moves when I run, it's uncomfortable. Nevermind how discouraging it is to have lost 65lbs and still be so unfit and uncomfortable with all the extra weight that I'm packing. I would not run by myself. Occasionally, I will do 2/8 minute splits on the treadmill at the gym doing a leisurely jog, if there is nobody else in the women's cardio room - and by 2/8, I mean 2 minutes jogging, 8 minutes walking, ha!

It's funny then, that considering my discomfort with jogging or running, I actually enjoyed myself. I work so much better when I have a buddy - having someone there who might have the personal determination or willpower to push themselves just a LITTLE bit further than I can push myself on my own. I am a highly competitive person, so if someone is going to go a little further than me, I can likely pull out what I've got and match them, at least. This kind of motivation works well for me.

I have had to figure out, over the last few years - since I did start with the idea of losing weight way back in 2006 - what works for me. The whole basis of this blog was that negative self image and self deprecating talk didn't do anything for motivation. Competition, accolades and positive encouragement are the best for me. I like for people to commend the things that I do, to tell me they're proud, to be impressed by what I can accomplish for a gal who is still swinging around 260. I like for someone to challenge me to beat them, to push me by example, not to just tell me "go out there and do it while I sit here". Those are truly the things that push me to be my best.