When 8 minutes feels like an eternity.

Today, on my rest day from running, I did 8-minute abs and 8-minute arms. These (along with 8-minute legs and buns) are what I used in '07 to lose all that weight. Now I remember why it worked.

My abs and arms are burnin' right now. It feels good. Even though I kept yelling at the guy when he was like, "This will never hurt you! This is fun! Smile!" Yeah, right. But, I did it. And now I'm sweaty, which means I did something useful.

So, I was also thinking today...Why am I doing this?

In September of 2006, my friend Chad suggested we try the Abs Diet (which his brother suggested to him) as we were both overweight. I was actually a lot overweight. For the next 9 months I ate healthily and worked out (minimally) and lost 30-some pounds. In May 2007 my weight was the lowest it had been in at least 10 years.

Fast forward to 2009. It’s all back. And then some. Over the past year or so, I have tried to restart my diet and exercise program, but have never been able to keep at it. I’m not sure why. It has been incredibly frustrating because, it’s like, I know for a fact that it works! I already DID it once. So, why couldn’t I be disciplined enough to do it again?

Then, last week, the same Chad was like, “Do this 5k with me in August.” I didn’t even think about it, I just said ok. It wasn’t until a couple days later that I realized I’ll die if I don’t start training for this thing. And eating better. And exercising. And losing weight.

It came at the perfect time. My wife, Julie, has been running for a while now (inspired by her brother and our friend Anthony – www.twogomers.com) and she’s actually going to run a 5k in early August before the one we’re doing together (Madison Mini Marathon 5k). She inspires me. I don’t have any idea how she does it. She gets up at like 5am and goes and works out/runs. Unbelievable. That’s why it’s going to be so sad when I BEAT HER IN THE RACE. Just kidding…she’ll probably kick my A.

All of that to say…I’m doing this for a couple reasons. The main one is to get healthy. The second is to accomplish something that I think is nearly impossible at this point. I’m not lying to you when I say I’ve never run more than a mile straight. I was a sprinter. So, imagining that I will run 3 miles without stopping…and without dying…seems improbable. But, it’ll happen. Not the dying thing, the running thing.

The other thing I’m finding out as I start this, is how supportive the running community is. Everybody knows how difficult it is and wants you to do well. And there are a lot of people who are like, “I’ll do it with you!” I can’t wait for the next couple of months. Running with friends, supporting each other, laughing together, encouraging one another…and then celebrating with each other over a job well done.