My 1st Complication

Somehow I think this is going to be my first of many complications on my road to 5K, but none the less here is it... I live in Illinois. Ok, so some people may be wondering why that would prove to be a complication to running a 5K. I mean seriously the fact that I am overweight, have the knees of a 55 year old (this is according to my orthopedic surgeon who also informed me that I need a knee replacement- by the way I am 32), and has a disdain for running. Living in Illinois does not seem like a big deal, well let me tell you it is. It is currently 4 degrees outside (yes 4) with a below zero windchill. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be 7 with up to a negative 25 windchill. Well this fat girl in not about to walk or run outside not in that kind of cold. To be honest I don't really want to join a gym just so that I can run. I mean HELLO, I am a girl who is attempting to change her philosophy from "you only run if you are being chased" to "I CAN run 3.1 miles, God help me I CAN and I WILL." The last thing I want to do is spend money just so I can go run. Don't get me wrong I expect to spend some money, obviously this non-runner is going to need some running shoes, and somewhere down the line, but within the next 365 days, I will have to pay my entry into my 5K, but paying anywhere from $20-$50 a month to join a gym so I can run, SERIOUSLY!

So with the prospect of a gym membership comes other complications and some benefits. On the downside I have to spend money to run (I could spent that money on shoes, makeup, purses, coffee, etc) and I have to worry about what people think about me while I am working out/ attempting to run (ok maybe I am being paranoid). On the upside, if I learn to run I could lose some weight and then I could go shopping for new clothes (and shoes to match...FUN!); I wont have to run in the cold, heat, or humidity (more on that in a minute); if I find a gym with daycare I don't have to worry about finding a time to run when the hubs is around, I could actually go when I wanted to go and not worry about childcare; and I could, depending on the gym, do other forms of exercise that I do actually enjoy, like yoga, pilates, and swimming.

Looks like this fat girl is going to be researching her local gyms and shelling out some cashola. :(

Back to Illinois and my winter weather complication... So the more I thought about running in the freezing cold of the winters of Illinois, not to mention the snow and ice (my driveway, the very one the hubs wanted me to run everyday, is currently covered in several patches of ice), the more the idea of running when being chased looked more and more appealing. But that was my old mentality, I am moving into my new mentality I can do this I will do this. So in the spring the weather will be better and I will be able to run outside in the mush that the snow leaves behind and the rain that hangs around until mid May, GROSS! The summer will be better, less rain and mush, sunshine and warmth, humidity and killer mosquito's, YUCK! OK The fall that will be the time for running outdoors, the warm weather will start to cool the bugs will start to die, although not until the first frost, and I will FINALLY be able to run outside until the rain the snow comes. Well hell, if I don't join a gym I wont ever be able to run in Illinois. This fat girl does not like the cold or the humidity so she will not be found hitting the pavement in these frigid temps or the sticky nastiness that is summer in the Midwest. So gym membership here I come...