Ode to Discomfort

D's comment and link to the swimming site yesterday got me thinking about discomfort and its relationship to fitness success (or success in general). Our culture of plenty thrives on the avoidance of discomfort, so we don't have to work too hard to find food, shelter, ect. but the cost to our health has become too high. And you're really out of luck if you're not a big fan of sports or have a competitive nature (me and most of my friends), so you have to force yourself to be more active. And as I've discovered these last few years, if you want to take off pounds in your thirties and beyond, you have to be active to the point of discomfort (and I don't mean injury).

But the good news is that once you find the activity that you least despise (e.g., swimming for D. and biking for B., running for me), you are halfway there. The next step is to set goals within that activity. For me, the Couch to 5K was what pushed me beyond discomfort to an addictive habit. I would have failed (and I have in the past) if I had no plan and just ran until I got tired. I now believe that benchmarks are critical to success (for those of you that are saying, "Well, duh!", just back off! It may have taken 34 years, but at least I get it). Also, as I've learned from Caligula the Trainer, you can't get too complacent once you've reached a goal- it doesn't stop there, you must constantly move the bar up higher, because your body will reach the point of equilibrium where unless you push it harder, it won't bother doing more work that absolutely necessary. And doing that extra work is really f'ing uncomfortable! I hate being out of breath! But, it is totally worth the feeling I have after I'm done.

And speaking of breath.... B decided it was time to cut the cord and take our old ashtrays to Goodwill. I have been reluctant due to a stupid superstition that as soon as you toss them, you start smoking again, but they've got to go. Man, we had some good lookin ashtrays...POOTIE PIC ALERT: Sammy's still exhausted from her vaccination trauma yesterday...