What’s it like to start an exercise program? It is, for lack of a better term, the opposite of glamorous. For those of us with an illness like diabetes, it needs to start with an okay from your physician. I can’t stress this enough–your doctor will probably love the idea, but make sure you actually hear that before you start.

If you’re like I was–seriously overweight–choice of exercise is very important on a number of fronts. For one, those who are heavy are at much higher risk of injury (remember our earlier two most important goals–no injuries and finish), so a form of exercise which is easy on the joints–think swimming or cycling–is a great choice. Some will choose walking, which is indeed easier on the joints than running, but even though it’s easier on your body than running, it’s not in the same league as swimming or cycling.

If you happen to live where I do, you’re lucky enough to have perfect weather a large amount of the time and public pools that are very friendly to beginners, as well as beaches. These are great places to start. You could also go to a health club (but being the cheap guy I am, I don’t have such a membership).

Starts aren’t glamorous–far from it. Large Fella on a Bike, Scott Cutshall, began his journey towards fitness on Thanksgiving Day 2005 weighing 501 pounds, riding a bike 1.9 miles in three hours. Stopped four or five times to rest. Sweating. Breathing heavily. But he did it.

Today he’s in the 170 pound range, and he’s not done yet (although he may be done blogging). So the start might not be glamorous, but the journey could be, and the end… the end’s not anywhere in sight. Not for him, not for me.

So in about 8 hours, I plan to get up and jump on a bicycle and ride. And for me, years after I started riding again, it’ll be the most glamorous thing I do all week.