Hey, everyone.

I experienced a small victory today that I wanted to share. First off, I've recently gotten back on Atkins and lost 10 lbs in the first two weeks. That puts me 65 lbs down from my highest weight of 350.

A while back, I had started dabbling with jogging. I had some successes on and off, but kept falling off the wagon. A few weeks back, I started again using an interval technique to build up my endurance. I targeted 30 minutes for each session. I started with 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking. The past week, I had worked my way up to 4 minutes.

Tonight when I started my run, I had planned on pursuing the same routine. At the end of the interval, I felt good, so I pushed on through without stopping to walk at all. As each successive interval passed, I kept moving, figuring I could always stop later if I got tired.

Much to my surprise, I didn't get tired until around the 25 minute mark. By that point, I was nearly back to my starting point, so I figured why not push it. And at a little after 31 minutes, I crossed my personal finish line without stopping once.

Of course given my size, I run slower than molasses flows uphill in winter. But I did manage to actually complete 2 miles. I can't even remember the last time I even ran a mile, let alone 2 of them. I know I had the silliest grin on my face as I walked back to my car. But I was proud of myself - and drenched in sweat.

Good for you! And being male, I hope you have those strong knees and hips to keep you going without pain.

Caroxx

I call that a huge victory! I am impressed and inspired!

That is fantastic! Congratulations!

Interval training is the correct way to introduce or re-introduce the body to jogging/running. This technique was the one that finally allowed me to pass my fitness exams that the military used to use.

Thanks, everyone for the encouragement. I went back out there again tonight and did it again! Two more miles down in 30.5 minutes.

As I was wrapping up a marathon runner slowed his pace a bit to chat and tell me I was doing a great thing. He said three years ago, he couldn't run a mile and now he does marathons. I might be a ways off from marathons, but it's funny how kind words of encouragement from a stranger can make you smile.