Vertical Response (review)

https://www.trustradius.com/reviews/vertical-response-2013-12-13-10-31-27

You Know You Work At A Youth Agency When...

Your toilet is out-of-order because the plumber found a cell phone stuck inside the pipes.
#truestory #thisismylife

"Want to Help People? Just Give Them Money"

http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/03/want-to-help-people-just-give/

Not sure how to feel about GiveDirectly, but I do agree with this writer’s statement, “As funders, we need to support nonprofits like these that use data-driven approaches, especially randomized control trials where possible, and we must challenge conventional wisdom on what works.”

My Boyfriend Chews Gum Too Loudly, Eats Too Much Yogurt, and Other Ridiculousness

First of all, it's pretty obvious that I'm Type A to the max. I am the kind of person who will be infuriated by a laughing child on the train about 40% of the time. Someone talking on the phone on the train 90% of the time. Someone breathing loudly or chewing loudly or clicking a pen or chewing hard candy 100% of the time. Ticking clocks, dripping faucets, tapping feet. These are the things that will send me on a killing spree. The rude homeless motherfucker on the train? Naw. I can ignore that shit. Repetitive sounds just a hair above consciousness? That shit really gets me going.

 "IF HE CRUNCHES THAT GRANOLA ONE MORE FUCKING TIME...I'M THROWING THAT BOWL OUT THE FUCKING WINDOW."

I've spoken with my therapist about this--yeah, it's that serious--and I think we've established that:

1. My reaction is akin to my mother's if she heard us "chewing like a cow" or any of the other things she'd tell us through clenched teeth at the tender age of 5. She put the fear of god in us. Green breath, long nails clenched into our arms, and a square jaw with clenched teeth saying something like, "STOP CHEWING YOUR CUD." So the derivation of this "disease" is obvious. And...
2. That different people have been raised in different cultures with different values (and non-psycho mothers who allowed them to chew, breath, make noise, etc), and I simply cannot handle not having control over common public space (I consider soundscapes as shareable "public" space, right?) and other people's bodies.
3. The places where my partner and I differ that are my pet peeves are the same places that make me rip out my hair.

"YOU MOVED THE EGGS TO THE SECOND SHELF?!? WHAT THE FUCK IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!?!"

How this translates: my way is the only right way and everyone else is wrong. Which means I am an easily infuriated roommate and partner.

I mean, I know that I am crazy pants. 

I'm not crazy in the way someone will bash your car windshield in, I'm crazy in the sense that I will find something to complain about when there is nothing there to complain about. I nearly had a meltdown in IKEA because he didn't understand that I have to have heavy, weighted, matching silverware and that keeping 2 bowls from an odd-matching set was completely out of the question. Kind of like Mommy Dearest.

I have dated some real doozies, and Nick is great to me. So I find things to complain about since everything is going fine.

I can let the letterbox stank for about 5 days past it's changing date because I'm just THAT LAZY, but godforbid one of my own pet peeves be ignited. I also have a "holier-than-thou" attitude to this shit too. I have said "irregardless" in the past. Once educated about it, it quickly took it's place as a nails-down-a-chalkboard irritant. And so are a bunch of other, completely entirely "human" things that my boyfriend does.

Which brings me to this: Living together is hard. Like, really really really hard. 

We have been living together about 3 weeks. He is amazing. I love how great and easy going he is, but sometimes even how easy-going he is drives me crazy. I have actually told him not to be so chill and calm and perfect all the time and that I need him to be less of a "5" all the time and to have more emotional outbursts.

UMMMMM. WHAT? Did I just tell the only man I've ever dated more than a few months without hating or despising that I need him to be more annoying? 

So, last night, as my boyfriend pulled down a bowl from the cupboard for his nightly (and I do mean nightly, bc next to brushing his teeth, this is the only thing I see him do every day) bowl of crunchy granola and yogurt, I tell him I am concerned with his yogurt intake.

"You know, you're critical of EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING I DO."

And I am. And I hate it. I mean, I can't imagine if I dated myself. I would punch myself in the dick. I mean look at this face...


WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG FOR A BRIEF UPDATE. I befriended my bf's cousin last week, and now I have full access to my boyfriend's embarrassing FaceSpace pictures. OMG. They are not nearly as tragic as mine, but I have to share. 

Everyone has at least one of these pictures. You know, a Mickey Mouse shirt, bad glasses, and overalls. 

OVERALLS.

And the 90s were not kind to anyone. I mean...

    
FROSTED TIPS.

Okay, I would have totally thought him a babe back in the day in that picture too. 

No, but really, look at this face: 

   
   

He is sexy as a motherfucker, and I can't believe that I get to date him. And do naughty things to him. He is so handsome, and so kind, and so patient with me. And we have fun, and have common interests, even if there's 20% of the music we both play that we both hate. I would be willing to put up with a million continuous plays of Linkin Park over the bullshit I've dealt with from other past relationships.

And besides  I'm crazypants. Always "working through emotions" and "unpacking my feelings" with therapy. I love when he teases me and I pretend to be fed up but he catches my smirt, and then we end up laughing and....Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, yeah.

Dating is hard. And he eats loud or some shit.

Maybe I just need to keep these pictures in mind when he's doing that totally normal human shit that makes me nearly rip his face off. Maybe next time I should just rip it off and give it a kiss...No, wait, that still sounds fucked. Maybe I'll just leave his face where it is. Yeah. That'll work.

Besides, I mean, he IS dating this dork:

That collar. UGH. I get itchy just looking at it. 

Til next time, let's both try not to rip off our partner's faces for normal things. Like eating.

When I Work Til 8pm on a Friday Night, Only to Return Monday Morning to a Bunch Of E-Mails From Directors (Who Don’t Understand What I Actually Do) Telling Me That Everything I Sent Out Was Wrong Somehow

When You Realize You'll Be On Vacation for #GivingTuesday and You'll Have Hundreds of Donations to Enter When You Return

When My Director Asks My Opinion and Then Completely Disregards Everything I Said in Making Her Decision

Rilly?

A Real Live(-in) Boyfriend

So it's past 12AM on a school night, and my whole house smells like cookies. Why? Because at 10PM when my boyfriend and I were enjoying the first .5 seconds of time together in three days, I scadaddled off the couch to make cookies, like a totally normal, sane person would do at bedtime. I mean, it has absolutely NOTHING to do with the pent-up anxiety that I have from his sudden pending move into my apartment.

And by sudden, I mean, I nagged him nearly every day for the past three months about moving in with me to save money, to spend more time together, every day access to sex, yadda yadda yadda. But then he actually said yes. And I was all, "Uh-huh. Well, if you move in, we're going to have to ______." And he seemed pretty cool about all my fill-in-the-blanks.

But he seemed to be dragging his feet the past month. As the ending summer months flew by and most college students found other apartments, I gave up hope and thought, well, a spring move-in will be fine. I'll have 6 months to really dig into all that herbal and essential oil treatments I've been getting into. I'll read books. Keep training for races. Pick up 15 new languages, learn to knit with cat hair, and take up whatever other hobbies lead my fellow 33-year-old women into insanity because they've driven away their boyfriends who won't "take the next step in their relationship."

After many-a bitchathons (a contest I need no training for), eventually, he said, "Stop saying 'if' and say 'when!' I AM going to move in with you! It's just a matter of time." Mmmmmhmmmmmmmmm. Eyeroll. Long sigh. "Yeah. Right. We'll see."

Then, on a random Tuesday afternoon, I get a series of calls/texts from him at work, which is totally abnormal for Old Nick With the Flip Phone With T9 Text Function but becoming more normal for Loves To FaceTime Nick With an iPhone 5c. He says to me, "How soon do you think I can move in?" I said, "Today, why?" Joking. Right? Joking. I'm joking here because clearly I'm a shrew and he would have seen this by now and wouldn't still be considering moving in with me. Right?

"Well, I talked to my landlord and they said people are looking for studios." I assume they are full of shit, they want him to move out before they show it to subletters but want for him to keep paying, so I back off the nagging maybe down to 85% strength, and go about littering our discussions with "If you move in...."'

And then he calls on Thursday and has me craft a write-up that night for Craigslist to see if anyone's biting, and four days later, someone's looking at the place, and he and all 13 of the items he can squeeze into a studio are moving in this Sunday. THIS SUNDAY.

SUNDAY. AS IN FIVE DAYS. Suddenly I'm gripped with a fear that he's going to find out that I'm really an ugly, disgusting monster unworthy of love and affection, and I'm a hoax and really not all that witty, and he should really run for the hills because I'm far too crazy to be loved, let alone lived with.

Aside from the typical self-deprecating, self-loathing mumbo jumbo bouncing around in my head, there's all the typical shit that flies around when people have to cohabitate. I have to suddenly stop shitting with the door open. No more eating cheese for dinner in my underwear on the couch while laughing with My Best Friend Mindy Kaling and drinking beer and ignoring phone calls because "my nails were wet" instead of "I had my mouth crammed full of a spoonful of stale potato chips and French onion dip."

Me in my reality:

Me in mind:

No more are the nights where I slide under the covers in the center of the bed, form a U-shaped fortress of pillows around me, and then use the cats as mini-space heaters for my frosty appendages, despite the fact I keep it a balmy 72 degrees no matter what. Now I have to share what is seemingly smaller and smaller of a queen-sized mattress with this giant. (He is 6'5" and I lurve it, but now there is no escape from Mr. Big in my bed.) He likes it 68 degrees maximum. He takes man-dumps, which I have to pretend are manly and I take girl-dumps which I have to either (1) hold in painfully until after he leaves for work or (2) pretend don't exist and that the cat just keeps farting or keep a good perfume in the bathroom which I will waste by spraying IN EXCESS after said poops.

It's not like we don't sleep together already a few times a week, but now it's like there's this infinite "ALWAYS" and "FOREVER" hanging over my head. The first sign of him hogging the bed (which is a joke because I EASILY take up 80% of the bed on any given night--his presence or not), my mind starts racing with "HE ALWAYS HOGS THE BED" to "FUCK THIS SHIT" and "I'M NOT PUTTING UP WITH THIS SHIT FOREVER."

And my mind shoots me right to where my depression/poor self-esteem/relationship drama/self-fulfilling doomsday prophecy of breakup bullshit wants to go.

So all this energy erupted when he came in, godforbid, to TALK TO ME WHILE I MAKE COOKIES. Ummmmm....doesn't he see I'm BUSY?!?! What? Comcast?!?! I don't give a FUCK about Comcast or renter's insurance right now. These cookies neeeeeeeeeeeeed me. Perhaps you didn't understand that. *melts boyfriends face with displaced anxiety directed in anger at him*

Fifteen minutes after he leaves the room and goes to bed, I realize that, perhaps, once again, I have lashed out in fear and turned into that shrew that Terrible Kerry wants me to be so I can be the victim-martyr in my own sob story. You know, kind of like most of the women in my family. (I digress.) So, I tuck my tail between my legs, realize that he is doing me a solid, and explain why I'm so crazypants.

I climb onto the bed with him. "Sorry I'm a shithead and yelled at you about Comcast. We will figure it out. And sorry we didn't *girates hips*." He laughs. This is a good sign. "Besides, we have everrrrry daaaaaaay together soon." He laughs again. I'm on a roll. "I'm just a little nervous about us living together, I guess. I haven't lived with someone I've dated in 9 years. NINE. YEARS."

"I understand. I am too, but it'll be okay."

"I love you and just don't want to mess this up."

"I love you too."

"Even when I'm a terrible meanie pants like tonight?"

"There are people who treat me way worse than you did tonight....on a daily basis."

"Give me their names and I will smash their faces." Klassy Kerry Keeps It Real.

"But seriously, babe. If I didn't think it would work out, I wouldn't be doing it."

And just like that, poof, most of my anxiety is quelled.

There's something about just hearing those calming words that say, "I'm scared too, but together we'll work it out" that makes everything feel like it's going to be okay. Like this isn't a fight against each other but some sort of lovey dovey journey we're taking together. And in my mind, we held hands and gallivanted over a hill to a castle in fairytale land.

I'm sure there will be more anxiety, and I will probably have a melt down when the last of his things have breached the threshold to my apartment, but alas, I'm done cooking now, and tired. And I have to go steal the covers from my sleeping giant.

Funny Depression Comics!

I know! The words "funny" and "depression" doesn't usually go together, but here they do! My friend Amy started a comic blog to explain the shit of dealing with recurring major depression, something I also deal with. (I hate saying "suffer with" because I think that dealing with depression IMPLIES suffering. It's certainly no tea party. Great now those Right-Wing assholes have even ruined that phrase. I digress...)

Anyway, she would love for folks to do guest features and for others to know that it helps them out. Check it out!

http://depressidentoftheunitedstates.tumblr.com/

Fit or Fat....Is it about shape or strength?

This is a response to the following article :
http://reembody.me/2013/09/10/the-6-most-shockingly-irresponsible-fitspiration-photos/

Hmmm. I partially agree with my friend Winston. I've posted his response below, with his permission:

I totally disagree with this article. My reason is that you can place any of these arguments on any Fitspiration meme no matter who made the meme and what the meme says. This article is riddled with fallacies: the Existential fallacy, the Fallacy of exclusive premises, the Fallacy of appeal to common sense, Proof by verbosity, and so many more ...

To me this reads like a Glen Beck/Howard Stern/Rush Limbaugh/Bob and Tom writing style. Shock valued, morning circus to draw attention to the writer and not what they are actually writing about.

I partially agree with Winston, but I can also see the author's points. You have to admit, all the fitspiration memes focus thin women and cut men though. Rarely do they focus on the stockier build of strong people. I'm not saying that this is the meme creator's intention to further impose the "skinny is beautiful" agenda, but rather a result of the conditioning of society upon our belief of what defines "health."

There was a show....The Doctors or Dr. Oz or something like that, where a tall woman who was stocky was next to a smaller petite woman, and they were both on a treadmill walking at 3.0 mph. The taller woman exercised regularly and the petite woman never did. The heart monitors showed that the petite woman's BPM shot up fast and the larger woman's was slower and steadier. The audience assumed the smaller woman would be healthier because she had a lower weight and size. You know the rest. Petite woman struggles, eventually has to stop, and the stockier woman keeps up with a steady heart rate.

Another example, a friend, Zach Henn used to be a personal trainer and cut as all get-out, but his cholesterol was >400 because of his heredity. (His dad died from a heart attack at a young age and also had crazy high cholesterol.) Zach had to take cholesterol-lowering meds as a result. His diet wasn't always fantastic...okay, sometimes he ate like shit (Arby's. LOTS of Arby's), and used to drink like a fish, yet he is thin and lean so people would assume he was super healthy. I'm fatter with 31% body fat and my cholesterol is WICKED low. Genes suck sometimes.

I guess my point is that we're so conditioned to see shape as fit or not fit, but I barely look much different from a year or so ago when I was WAY less healthy.

I guess we should reinforce that exercise is the key and not the body's shape that it's in. That everyone starts somewhere....that it's not about where/when you start but that you recognize the importance of health and getting fit and that you take a step in that direction and keep moving.

I'll be the first to admit that too much of anything is bad. And that's the point about the anorexia/hypergymwhatever that the author points out. I guess it's all a balance, and toned fit bodies are healthy-looking and TYPICALLY healthier than ones with higher body fat and other obvious issues, but isn't the whole issue about health....not SHAPE? Again, it's not that shape isn't an indicator, but it shouldn't be ALL that we focus on. Just a piece.

I don't know. I may never look like the fitspiration pics I see, but I am happy to be headed in the DIRECTION of healthier me, and that is good. I can feel my body doing things it couldn't do a year ago. And that's great.

But showing a set of stairs that I've conquered instead of my still-albeit-less-flabby abs isn't as inspiring as a cut half-naked chick.

I think I'm just tired of the oversexualization of America despite our Puritan roots that tell us just how bad sex is. It's ridiculous. There was a good relationship book I read that I recommend. You should check it out: http://www.amazon.com/Mating-Captivity-Reconciling-Erotic-Domestic/dp/0060753633

But that's for another post another time! And on that note, I'm out!



P.S. More this: https://www.google.com/search?q=female+olympic+weightlifters&espv=210&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=6whgUsPCFonCywHL3oEQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1440&bih=732

Less this: https://www.google.com/search?q=female+olympic+weightlifters&espv=210&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=6whgUsPCFonCywHL3oEQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1440&bih=732#es_sm=93&espv=210&q=sexy+fit+females&tbm=isch

2013 Fall-Winter Races

Anyone want to go running? I've picked these as potential runs for me to keep up with things, despite a bum knee. Let me know if you're around an 11-minute mile and want a friend to keep you company on the course!

Sunday October 27, 2013 10AM	5K	http://muddymonk.com/thriller5k	Schiller Park (west on Irv Park)	Chiller 5K and 10K Trail Races
Saturday November 2, 2013 8:00 AM	5K	http://www.RaceoftheDead.com	Pilsen	UNO 5K - Carrera de los Muertos
Saturday November 9, 2013 7:30AM	10mi/10K	http://www.chicagosperfect10.com/	Chicago dwntwn lakefront	Chicago's Perfect 10
Saturday December 14, 2013, 9:00 AM	5K/10K	http://jinglebellrunchicago.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1069599	Peggy Notebaert area	Jingle Bell Run/Walk – Chicago
Sunday October 27, 2013 9:00 AM	6K	http://www.EvanstonTrickorTreatTrot.com	Evanston	Trick or Treat Trot
Thursday November 28, 2013 9AM	8K	http://www.runningguru.com/EventInformation.asp?SourceCode=1095&eID=5795	Chicago dwntwn lakefront	Chicago 8K Turkey Chase
Saturday December 7, 2013 9:00 AM	5K	http://santahustle.com/chicago/	NA	Santa Hustle 5K
Saturday December 07, 2013 10AM	5K/10K	http://muddymonk.com/registration/chiller-5k-10k-trail-runs	Schiller Park	Chiller 5k & 10k Trail Runs

Why Running? (aka, More Running Shiz)

My friend also asked me why I picked running as opposed to other sports. Here is my answer:

Runners DEFINITELY have a community. Like, when you run and you pass another runner, you give them a nod or a little wave or smile. That's nice. I definitely don't see people at the gym giving each other encouraging looks. It seems more competitive at gyms, like "I can do this stairmaster WAY faster than you!" And going into the free weights room--forget it! I think I like the fact that no one tells me what to do but that I have a "schedule" or plan I need to follow--I like that. It takes the best of being instructed what to do when (like a class) but without someone yelling at you (except for the voice in your head that you learn to cultivate). Seriously, sometimes I just think "quick, quick, quick" with every step so I can go a little faster. Or "one foot in front of the other" is another one I hear is good. When doing my 10-mile walk/run this past weekend, I thought, "Run when you CAN, walk when you HAVE TO" and surprisingly enough, I kept a pretty steady pace the entire time. I also think that the 3 Bonobo albums that I had playing may have helped with that.

For the past year, I was an avid hot yoga enthusiast. I still enjoy and do hot yoga and regular yoga, but only about once a week. I like both a lot, but in my head, it was a competition with these skinny Loyola 20-year-olds and I wasn't into it. (I went to a CorePower Yoga studio in Uptown, and all the Loyola girls would come down to it.) I know it was in my head and the result of my own insecurities, but at first it was really hard for me. Then, I got to the point where I would walk around and let my fat hang out and not give two shits, but it is hard to be in a class with so many bendy Wendys and not feel intimidated. I go to a "normal" yoga studio now (Namaskar Yoga via Groupon!) and so there's not that many college kids. It's good but isn't hot yoga. (There's a phenomenal instructor, Chrissie there, that I definitely suggest checking out. Her Friday morning (10AM) class stretches me and challenges me in all the right ways.) It's nice not to have different personalities of instructors and NOT the exact same class twice. (That's what CorePowerYoga does. It's like the McDonald's of yoga, but because it was $135/month and around the corner from me, I went 3-4 times/week.) I dropped 25 pounds just from hot yoga. I got SO strong in my core and arms and legs, but I still had a lot of fat all over, so I wanted to trim that through aerobic activity. Henceforth, running.

I ended up picking running because I thought it'd be cheap (ha! shoes, shoe inserts, water belts, workout clothes, races!) and easy (PT, strengthening, breathing, keeping up with a schedule!), but I really liked the peacefulness and solitude and "me time" it gave me. It felt like I was giving time back to myself without anyone else in my head or around me or to make me doubt my capabilities--just me and myself to push myself. And there was something comforting about that.

Yoga brought me part of the way, running a little further, and who knows what will be next. I saw my body change so much in little ways here and there...a little more cut on my triceps (yoga), a little more definition in my calves (yoga and running), smaller ankles (yoga), stronger ankles for when I mis-step in heels and don't fall over (running), and a smaller waist, better posture, and more confidence after hitting goals (yoga and running). 

I think the key is to find something you can set a goal in and stay committed. If you hate it, you won't do it. If you like dancing, do Zumba. If you like getting big and seeing definition in your muscles, try weight lifting. If you like dancing-style stuff but Zumba isn't doing it for you, do step aerobics. I don't know. Just find something that gets your butt off the couch and sweating.

That's the other thing. Get used to sweating. Tell yourself it's fat crying. Or that it's proof you're working hard. Or that it's all those EL-BEEs melting away. Whatever. Get used to sweating, having stinky wet clothes that have to dry out overnight, and twice as much laundry as you used to have. Because guess what, you're likely to start wearing half the sizes you used to be. :)

The other big motivator for me was to put my money where my mouth was. I spent $135/month on a yoga membership. You bet your butt I went 4 times a week! I bought shoes and inserts for $150 and PT is $20 a pop. Again, I DEFINITELY wanted to use that money for cheese and beer, but I learned to get addicted to the serenity that working out brought me. Eventually, I gave in and started accepting that I just had to run every few days or I'd get a little anxious. 

Once you get into the running portion, make sure you buy some good shoes. I recommend you go to Fleet Feet. Expect to spend $100-150. They'll let you know what shoe you need. And it'll help you stay committed.

The other major thing is that I have major depression. Been on meds off/on for about 14 years. Which totally sucks, but I deal. I used to just cook or eat or drink or fuck my way out of feelings, but I'm now working on talking through them and calming my mind with working out. Don't get me wrong, I still take my pills in the morning AND at night, but I find myself a little less restless and hopeless on days I work out. I tend to look forward to long runs on the weekend instead of wanting to drink the night away and sleep the day away. I actually want to get up early and hit the asphalt.

Dear lord, if 2-years-ago 180-lb bacon-and-eggs-every-motha-fuckin-morning Kerry could hear me now. Oooooooooooo lawd have mercy!

How to Start Running

People have recently asked me about how I started running. Below are the first few steps I found to help me get moving.

1. A Couch to 5K Program. Supposedly they help people get started. I did it wrong and jumped into 2-3 mile runs before I was ready and dealt with a lot of injuries, but that's also because I have a bad back from a weak core, which made my form shit. Check out some "C25K" programs and focus on the time you're moving (running and walking=total time you're working out) rather than your mileage to start. It gets you to form a habit of moving and exercising instead of focusing on stats like how far and fast you're going. 

2. Then set some goals--sign up for a 5k in a few months and tell everyone you know about it. This will make you follow through on it. Also, fundraising for my races helped me because it makes the working out less about me and more about the agency I'm fundraising for. And while I'm likely to let myself slide and slip up, I'm less likely to fail (ie, give up fundraising or losing money for) an agency I support, so it holds me accountable to more than just myself. 

3. Third, learn to say yes to your health, commit to self-care, and prioritize it over other things. This means you have to determine what you're willing to lose to gain. I started working out a few times per week before running, so I had a good groundwork of regular working out, but once I started running, I also had physical therapy AND working out. I had to make a decision to take care of myself in the immediate so I could have long-term health, happiness, sanity, and stability. For me, I stopped going out on weeknights except maybe once a week. I cut back on going out to eat, but I also had less tie to cook all night. Which meant I had to figure out what I could make quickly that wasn't just cheese, crackers, or ice cream. I also learned to commit to running so much that if I leave work late, I run when I get home, and sometimes eat dinner late (like 9-10pm). Not ideal, but surprisingly enough, getting into work earlier ended up being a result since I didn't want to run so late!

4. Also, learn to say no. No to friends who will try to talk you out of working out or running, who will try to get you to have one more beer before you leave the bar early for an early morning run, and who will try to tell you any of the myriad things about their immediate need being more important than your long-term goal. By keeping up your non-physically present communication (ie, calling, texting, e-mailing, and FBing), you can still let these people know you care about them, but you can't go out for all-night ragers anymore.

5. Hold yourself accountable to yourself and your goals. I used to think people who checked in at gyms and updated online were bragging... until I realized that it was their way of making a commitment, and then following through on personal accountability by broadcasting it to people they've told. People WILL check in on you and encourage you to do what you committed too. If you can, track your training online--I really like MapMyRun. It's really rewarding to see how I improve week to week and how far I've run cumulatively.  Little milestones are pretty fantastic too. The app takes the guesswork out of things like mileage and speed, once you get into the swing of running or walking.

6. Last step--get moving and actually do what you say you'll do and train and do the 5k. As you train and hit mini milestones (1 mile walk/run, 2-mile walk/run, 1 mile jog without stopping, etc), you'll find you're more emotionally and physically capable than you previously thought! It's amazing what this running has done for my self-esteem!

One last thing, please remember that if you're ever in PAIN, not just SORE, go see a doctor! Also, it's really important that you learn that a setback is not a failure. Stepping back is sometimes necessary to move forward. Someone famous said it's just the cha-cha. :)