Throughout my life I have always excused my laziness by categorizing myself as "unathletic".  In grade school and High School I joined various sports teams in an effort to find something that I was good at.  The search turned out to be futile.  Dance wasn't my sport, because I wasn't graceful enough.  Lacrosse wasn't my sport, because I wasn't aggressive enough.  Volleyball wasn't my sport because I wasn't limber enough.  Track wasn't my sport because, well, I wasn't a fast (or motivated) runner.  All of these athletic endeavors had one thing in common: not one of them lasted more than a week.  (OK, to my parents' credit, the dance classes which they paid in full at the beginning of the season, lasted the entire season - but let me reiterate my lack of grace and thus the pure unadulterated hatred I had for these classes.)

After so many of these athletic attempts, I finally came to terms with what I consider to be my physical fate: I am unathletic.

The word "unathletic" has been my crutch when I come under scrutiny (usually from myself, other times from my loved ones) for not exercising.  It continues to be my excuse in my adult life.  Somewhere in between my lack of grace, lack of flexibility, lack of aggression and lack of speed, I have let the word "unathletic" define me.  I have allowed the word to dictate my physical health and even my mental health.  I have used it as an excuse to not join recreational teams; and as an excuse not to frequent the gym.  I have even used it as a justification for my perpetually laziness (read: Spending most days sitting on my butt).

There have been a few - a VERY few - fleeting moments in my life that I've found something athletic I enjoyed and tried to pursue it on a regular basis.  There was that time that I was running 3-4 days a week for 4-5 months straight when I hated my job, was living in a new city, and was generally lazy... but once I moved to a more desirable location, the running (along with the horrible job) was left behind.  Then there was the time I started taking yoga classes once a week to improve the aforementioned lack of flexibility.  That lasted a mere three months before my schedule changed, and thus my motivation to do yoga changed as well.  And then there was the most recent time when I began taking spin classes with some friends, which I actually enjoyed, worked with my schedule, and made me feel like I could handle it... and then the gym cancelled it.

All in all, there have been very few attempts at incorporating true exercise into my daily life, and my "unathletic state of mind" has been my way of justifying it.

Well, no more!  As of yesterday, I am no longer letting that state of mind define me.  And my reasons?

1) A purple dress

2) A 5K (3.1 mile) run on October 31st.

I am determined to  fit into that purple dress again... and run that 5k at a pace I can be proud of myself for.  (Maybe even 9-minute miles? Something I don't think I've EVER in my life been able to do...).  I know I will never be a true athletic competitor in events, but why should that stop me from improving my health and feeling good about myself?

I have two months, and along with the start of September a fresh outlook on life.  For once, I will remind myself that though I may be doomed to a fate of unathleticism (i.e., never REALLY excelling at sports), I can still lead a healthy life.  And part of a healthy life is getting off my lazy butt and moving around once in a while.

Wish me luck...