I am once again on a quest to "become a runner". I have never, ever, EVER, in my life been a runner. The farthest I ran in high school was the state-mandated mile run and do you know where I placed? Second! (to last) For those of you who were fortunate enough to go to high school with me in Nowheresville, you may remember a Miss Crawford in our class? She was last. I was just steps in front of her! I kid you not! It was a pathetic display of my lack of athletic ability that I am not proud of!
A few years ago I found the program Couch-to-5K and began following it on my treadmill at home. Within a few weeks I was up to running 20 minutes at a time. Not a small feat for someone who finished second to last! For whatever reason, I don't remember, I never completed the nine week program. I did run a 5K after starting though and finished with a time of just under 40 minutes. I would have finished sooner but it was a work thing and I walked with some of the ladies. The rest of the group finished in 48 minutes!
Since November, I have been going to the local gym 3-4 times a week during my lunch hour. My coworker Greg and I started going together before the holidays and it was great motivation to have a buddy to push me to go. Some days it's harder than others. Especially because our office likes to go eat sushi frequently for lunch and it's hard to turn down. Forunately my work schedule is very flexible though so if I want I can leave at 4pm and hit the gym or go at lunch or when Coop was in school I'd go after work. Now that he is in summer camp I try to go at lunch so he doesn't have to be there any longer than absolutely necessary. They also have child care so Saturday mornings I usually go for an hour while Coop entertains the kids in the child care room. (He's such a performer......but that's another post!)
When we first started going, Greg and I would just walk on the treadmill. In his words he is "a bisquit away from 300lbs" even though I would guess a good 150lbs of that is muscle because he's a big muscle man! So we would walk and I would do the incline/hill for all it was worth. At the end of 30 minutes I would have burned 300 calories while Greg was burning 150-170 without the incline changes. I was pretty happy with that calorie burn and the fact that it was low impact and minimal sweat-factor during lunch.
A few weeks ago Greg stopped going to the gym at lunch for various reasons (injury, work lunches, etc) so I was going on my own. Around the same time I had decided to start running again. I think I actually started the C25K plan to some extent while he was still going with me. But now that I was on my own so it was easier for me to dig my heels in and start running more.
I'm proud to say that this next-to-last-place finisher is now busting out two miles a day at the gym with ease. I'm still working toward the full 3.1 miles or 5K but I can certainly see myself finishing this time. For someone who has never, ever, EVER run - this is a big accomplishment for me. I'm determined and dedicated to running now for the first time. It feels different this time if that makes any sense. It feels as if this time it will stick with me and I'll continue on my journey to becoming a runner.
My goal is to start with 5K's and be able to finish in a competitive time. I have no desire (at this point) to aim any higher or farther than a 5K. Ok, maybe five miles but that would be the max. I'm not looking to run marathons or even half marathons. My ultimate goal - in all honesty - is to be able to go to the gym at lunch or otherwise and be able to run for 35 minutes with ease! Just to run.
I'm reading a book called The Courage to Start and would recommend it to anyone who wants to start running. His story and his demeanor throughout the book are encouraging.
So come run with me and follow my steps as I post via iMapMyRun to Facebook.
A few years ago I found the program Couch-to-5K and began following it on my treadmill at home. Within a few weeks I was up to running 20 minutes at a time. Not a small feat for someone who finished second to last! For whatever reason, I don't remember, I never completed the nine week program. I did run a 5K after starting though and finished with a time of just under 40 minutes. I would have finished sooner but it was a work thing and I walked with some of the ladies. The rest of the group finished in 48 minutes!
Since November, I have been going to the local gym 3-4 times a week during my lunch hour. My coworker Greg and I started going together before the holidays and it was great motivation to have a buddy to push me to go. Some days it's harder than others. Especially because our office likes to go eat sushi frequently for lunch and it's hard to turn down. Forunately my work schedule is very flexible though so if I want I can leave at 4pm and hit the gym or go at lunch or when Coop was in school I'd go after work. Now that he is in summer camp I try to go at lunch so he doesn't have to be there any longer than absolutely necessary. They also have child care so Saturday mornings I usually go for an hour while Coop entertains the kids in the child care room. (He's such a performer......but that's another post!)
When we first started going, Greg and I would just walk on the treadmill. In his words he is "a bisquit away from 300lbs" even though I would guess a good 150lbs of that is muscle because he's a big muscle man! So we would walk and I would do the incline/hill for all it was worth. At the end of 30 minutes I would have burned 300 calories while Greg was burning 150-170 without the incline changes. I was pretty happy with that calorie burn and the fact that it was low impact and minimal sweat-factor during lunch.
A few weeks ago Greg stopped going to the gym at lunch for various reasons (injury, work lunches, etc) so I was going on my own. Around the same time I had decided to start running again. I think I actually started the C25K plan to some extent while he was still going with me. But now that I was on my own so it was easier for me to dig my heels in and start running more.
I'm proud to say that this next-to-last-place finisher is now busting out two miles a day at the gym with ease. I'm still working toward the full 3.1 miles or 5K but I can certainly see myself finishing this time. For someone who has never, ever, EVER run - this is a big accomplishment for me. I'm determined and dedicated to running now for the first time. It feels different this time if that makes any sense. It feels as if this time it will stick with me and I'll continue on my journey to becoming a runner.
My goal is to start with 5K's and be able to finish in a competitive time. I have no desire (at this point) to aim any higher or farther than a 5K. Ok, maybe five miles but that would be the max. I'm not looking to run marathons or even half marathons. My ultimate goal - in all honesty - is to be able to go to the gym at lunch or otherwise and be able to run for 35 minutes with ease! Just to run.
I'm reading a book called The Courage to Start and would recommend it to anyone who wants to start running. His story and his demeanor throughout the book are encouraging.
So come run with me and follow my steps as I post via iMapMyRun to Facebook.
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