My (hopefully not) Brief Affair With Running

Okay, so running may not be a new thing for me, but running with a purpose is! Like half the American population, I have claimed getting healthy as my New Year’s goal to resolve a medical condition.

To be frank, I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome).  What I have come to learn about this affliction is that it primarily messes with the female (go figure since it has “ovarian” in the title) hormones.  Hundreds of thousands of women are affected by this problem and have higher levels of androgens (male hormones).  I specifically produce too much testosterone which has led to VERY unwanted dark hair growth and skin with acne pretty much 24/7.  Yes, I do have a darker than average mustache for a woman and yes, sometimes I look at my limbs and see wolverine.  I’m sharing this with you so you can understand that I do not choose to have this problem and would gladly take clear skin and hairless arms, face, belly, etc.   Always remember that passing judgment based on appearance is generally a poor thing to do, but it’s especially so for people who have uncontrollable medical conditions and cannot change the way they appear (yes, I’m guilty, but I have a new perspective being one of those people).

Unfortunately, there is no instruction manual to fix PCOS.  There are, however, a few things I can do to minimize and potentially (if I get really serious) eliminate the problem.  Well, why am I complaining and not fixing you may ask? The solutions are exercise, a healthy diet, and weight loss.  Ah ha! That’s why it’s not as easy as it seems. 

Please note that I work at a donut shop four to five days a week and have access to the products all the time. This translates into me eating donuts every time I work.  No, I do not have self-control as you might have guessed and this is exactly what I am working on.  I’ve been trying to cut out sweets from my diet, including fruit.  I want to train myself to eat more vegetables and lose my craving for treats that occurs all the time.  This does not mean I want to cut sweets out of my life completely (I love pie way too much!), but simply that I need to control myself and learn moderation. And working at a donut shop really challenges me!

So far, I have been doing well, but I still can’t resist a little sweet in a day.  At least I have been keeping my eating under control and usually make good decisions, but a girl has got to have her sea salt caramel chocolate every now and again! Am I right?

Well the entire point of this post is that cutting out sweets is hard, period! And also that I ran for the first time in years.  I was inspired by a co-worker who runs five miles every other day or so and is training for a half marathon in February.  Anyways, I took my dog, Sophie (a four pound Pomeranian-Papillion-yes, this detail is important), and went for a jog around our neighborhood.  I definitely did a run, then walk type of deal and by the end of it I was almost dragging poor Sophie along.  At least I had a good excuse for not continuing on my run or going very fast.  My dog was tired… Who has used that excuse before? Oh wait…no one because most people have real dogs instead of a rat/fox/squirrel like creature.

So here’s the moral: I can’t make excuses any more since I’m no longer in school and have plenty of time to focus on me.  Running and planning healthy meals are other activities I can focus on instead of Facebook or texting. Remember, we only get one body in our lifetime and I plan on taking care of mine. And I am truly trying!  How about you?

P.S. I had a really hard time titling this post.  Here are a few that didn't quite make the cut (and thanks to my buddy Izzy for her help on the winner):

1. Running: A Foreign Act

2. Runnin' runnin' and runnin' runnin' (You know that Black Eyed Pea's song...)

3. T-rex Arms (an inside joke about a friend who has t-rex arms when she runs.  She laughs about it, so I'm not an awful person)

4. Running for non runners (lame)