One Foot in Front of the Other

The title of this entry is pretty obvious and typical, but it's also very fitting.

Last summer, I had a complete physical. Let's just say my lazy lifestyle wasn't doing the best it could for my body.

I decided this needed to change. I cut out fast food, started eating more fruit, but the biggest thing was I started working out. The elliptical and I became close friends.

The big issue I had to get over was my asthma. I have exercise-induced asthma (humidity, cold, and me being congested can trigger it, too). It was pretty bad in high school, but in college it got a little better thanks to me hoofing it all over Mizzou's campus.

I'm not going to deny that I wasn't scared when I stepped on that elliptical. The thought of the screaming lungs, the inability to catch my breath, and shaky hands didn't exactly make me want to jump into this guns a blazin'.

I've been good though. I even made the jump to full out running on the treadmill.

Best part: the asthma has rarely been an issue.

Yes, I still have bad days. But the good part is that I can tell when I'm starting to push myself too hard. I know my symptoms, and I know when to slow down and when to just say "It's time to stop."

The important thing is that when those days happen, it doesn't make me not go back. I show up the next day, and push myself just as hard.

I'm not super fast yet, and I'm not doing any long distances. But, considering a year ago running a quarter mile would have made me keel over and now I can do three half-miles in a 30-minute period, I'd say I'm slowly slaying the beast.