Go Me!

"Welcome back Kel!  It's been a year since we've last seen you.  Are you going to stick it this time?  Time will tell!" - Signed, Blogger

Ok maybe not.  But they might as well send me this message.  :)  It has been a year since I posted (on my other blog), but I have something fun and exciting to write about now.  Are you ready for this?... I started running!  :)

For years and years I've had this deep seated desire to be a runner.  I would see other people running down the greenbelt, down the sidewalk, through a neighborhood - wherever - and I would actually long to be doing the same.

• But I'm out of shape.
• I would never make it.
• I'm SO out of shape.
• I probably don't even have the coordination for that anymore.
• I'm SO VERY out of shape.
• I have foot problems - I probably wouldn't be able to walk for a week afterwards.
• Not to mention my leg problems.

I had obviously already convinced myself I would fail miserably if I was ever brave enough to try.  (Yeah right.  Me?  Brave?  HA!)  But I was.  And I did.  And you know what?  I DID NOT FAIL!  I actually surprised the heck out of myself!

This is how it happened:

The weather was finally starting to improve and it finally became spring-like out here.  Now, I'm that person in the office who works through her breaks, often including lunch.  But after moving into a new office space, I lost my window so I now feel a little more cooped up.  I needed to get outside for a bit during the day so I decided to start taking walks during my lunch hour.  The problem I found with this, is that I don't stroll when I walk.  I am not capable of a nice leisurely walk.  I walk with purpose and I book-it.  So I kept coming in from my walks flushed and almost sweaty.  Not awesome.  So then I decided that if I'm on the verge of needing a shower anyway, why not make it worth while?

I had heard from a few friends that they started running using the C25K (Couch To 5K) app and had heard that they liked it and it had worked well for them.  Now, I honestly have no idea what made me think that I could actually pull this off (maybe knowing that the program started you out slow?), but I downloaded the app and decided to give it a try. Three days a week, 30 minutes a day sounded completely doable to me, as long as I didn't pass out on the greenbelt.  :)

So I did it.  Day 1, My shins hurt, my legs felt like cement, I struggled with my breathing, and I just knew I wouldn't make it to the end.  But I did.

Day 2, again, my shins hurt and I struggled with my breathing, but I didn't doubt my ability to finish quite so much. And I did.

Day 3, my shins hurt slightly less than before, and I still struggled with my breathing but knew I was going to finish the week.  And I did!

Dang the breathing!  I knew I was going to have to learn how to run, but I did not expect to have to learn how to breathe too!  I KNOW I sound like a dying cow out there because every time one of my ear bud falls out - which is too often (it's always the left one.  Dang tragus piercing!), I can hear myself.  Oh. My. Word.  Deep breaths mixed with shallow ones, with some long exhales mixed with lots of spit-flinging sputtering ones.  Yes.  "Dying cow" is pretty accurate.  Thank God for my noise-cancelling headphones, because if I can't hear myself breathing, no one else can either.  Right?  :)

So I completed week 1.  And then I completed week 2.  I was feeling great about my progress, even adding a couple extra runs in between.  Then week 3.  The dreaded week 3.

      "Brisk five-minute warm up walk, then do two repetitions of the following: jog for 90 secs; walk              
       for 90 secs; jog for 3 minutes"

Sounds easy huh?  Not so much.  On at least 2 of the 3 days for that week, I wasn't able to complete the second 3 minute run.  I could go for about 2.5 minutes before wanting to keel over.  My legs were fine, my shins only moderately hurt, but I was definitely realizing how important the breathing thing was going to be.  

Feeling slightly like I had failed, I weighed the option of redoing week 3 versus continuing on to week 4.  I thought about it for a day or two and decided that it doesn't matter how long it takes me to complete the C25K program.  It just matters that I complete it.  I know myself enough to know that if I go too fast and it becomes too hard, I'll quit.  So, rather than setting myself up for failure and going too hard, I decided to go home and read a bunch of articles about how to breathe while running, and then redo week 3.  So it'll take me an extra week to complete the program.  

Here I am after completing week 1, day 1 of C25K!  Still smiling!

So what?  

Who cares?

Anyone?

Please speak now or forever hold your peace.

Anyone?

I didn't think so.

I'm not quitting and that's the only thing I care about!  :)

So I (re-)started week 3, and you know what?  I'm killin' it!  I'm finishing both 3 minute runs and I'm convinced I could keep going!

And here I am, turning myself into a runner.  ME!  A runner!  I'm no longer sitting on the sidelines wishing I had the motivation and strength to do it, because I. am. doing. it.

I hope you'll join me in this new adventure and help cheer me on!

GO ME!  :)