Yesterday was one of those days that not only did I not want to go to the gym, but also working my legs was out of the question. My two PICs (Partners In Crime for the gym), Jessy and Ray, weren’t around, so I had no choice but to work out alone. I walk upstairs to where all the machines are in the gym, get overwhelmed and take a deep breath. You must’ve thought someone was asking me to run a marathon!

I do the usual: Say hello to the fabulous trainers at New York Sports Club. I go on the rowing machine and give up after 10 minutes. Then I head over to the elliptical, convinced that I would do 45 minutes—only, 25 minutes later I was done. I start to wonder out loud, “Why am I so lazy today?”

Finally, I see the treadmill and decide, why not? I’ve walked, not run, on the treadmill several times, with it always on an incline. An older man on the machine next to me was running; I was walking, of course, very slow and on an incline. And then something in me snapped—no more being lazy. So, yes, I decided to run. I started by taking baby steps. I speed-walked for half of the mile and ran the other. It was a feeling of accomplishment! And, I did this all under 20 minutes. For me, a mile under 20 minutes is a success. I did it in 18:38, and my goal week by week is to decrease the time by 10 to 30 seconds.

Have you ever begun a workout and felt like you couldn’t finish? If you finished, what did you use as your motivation? Any suggestions on running sneakers?