Start running

Last night I was finally able to start running again after a week of being sick and then recovering. I new that I probalby wouldn’t be quite up to where I was before and decided to try something different. Instead of running multiple sets of small runs I went for it to see what I could do. I ended up going for 6 1/2 minutes and although that wasn’t ideal, not too bad after being sick.

I had a great run on Wednesday night but then I caught the flu! I was in bed all weekend and today is my first day back in the land of the living. I hope to get back at it soon but know that the next few days I will probably have to conserve my energy and use it to just make it through the day.

Tonight I switched things up a bit and went to the Y with my friend & exercize pal. The change of scenery (from one treadmill to another… LOL) did the trick and I was able to push a bit harder tonight and make it to 5 sets of run 3/walk 1. The good news is that I did 15 total minutes of running which at 4 mph is a mile!!! My first goal is to do a mile without stopping, for me that would be unbelievable because it’s something I always thought I could not do. However, doing a mile this way was pretty great too.

I didn’t record my last two runs partly for time reasons and partly because they weren’t good. I actually fell back a bit in the progress that I made. I got on the treadmill again last night and was able to get back up to 4 sets of run 3/ walk 1. I wanted to do 5 sets but I could tell that it would be pushing my body two far. We’ll try for Wednesday or Thursday and see if I can make it happen.

I was tempted not to run tonight because I was a bit sore today from all of the snow shoveling that I did yesterday. But, I am determined to make steady progress on this goal. After two sets of run 3/walk 1 I was spent and ready to quit. Then I started thinking about the olympics and how I’m sure that every athlete there has had to push through real pain, I’m such a wimp! So… on to the third set and just as I started it, my new theme song “Independent Women” came on my iPod. (Not that I’m a man hater but I just love celebrating that fact that I can accomplish great things!) Anyway… I made it through the third set and pushed on to the fourth. During the fourth set, one of the refrains of the song that I was listening to was “Nothing in my life is free”. This helped spur me on to finish that set. I did it…. four sets of run 3/walk 1…. 12 minutes of running!!! Yeah! I’m hoping to get five sets next time and then progress on to run four/walk 1.

Back on the treadmill again this afternoon for another run. This where the first run where I didn’t see any progress and stayed where I was last run (3 sets of run 3/walk 1). While I’m temped to be discouraged, I won’t let myself succomb to it. I hadn’t run since Monday (it’s Saturday) and I was wondering if I would lose some momentum from that. Also, I’m carrying a significant amount of weight and I’m hoping that as I slim down, the running will become easier on my body. On a positive note, I’ve managed to shed 3.5 pounds since Monday. I’ve decided to stop saying that I’ve lost weight because that makes it sound like I had weight and then, poof!, it magically disappeared. Quite to the contrary, I know how each one of those ounces left me and it took quite a deal of effort.

After my last run I was very discouraged. Yes, it was an improvement to switch from run one/walk one to run three/walk one. My discouragement came from going from 15 run one/walk one (15 min) to only 2 run three/walk ones (6 min). Although I was determined to give up, I got right back on the treadmill tonight and progressed to 3 run three/walk one’s (9 min). Afterward I wasn’t totally spent but decided that that would be enough for tonight. My legs have been pretty sore in my off days and I want to be recovered enough to do 4 sets next time. I’m learning that my body is thriving as I’m letting it go at its own slow pace instead of forcing it into the ideal pace of my mind!

Yesterday I had a good talk with one of my runner friends to get some tips on how to move to the next level since I was able to do 15 reps of run one/walk one. She suggested that I move to run three/walk one. I was a little bit uncertain if I could make that switch but decided to give it a try. My hope was to aim for 5 reps totalling 15 minutes of running. After two reps (6 min of running) my feet were cramped up again and I had to stop. I was very frustrated because I could have gone longer as far as energy and breathing goes. I think I’ll move to a planet where I can experience instantaneous progress. Does anyone know where that is?

It didn’t take me too long into my childhood to realize that I wasn’t destined to be a great athlete. While it can be healthy to realize your limitations and set realistic expectations, I think that I robbed myself of experiencing accomplishment by never pushing myself to achieve just as much as I could in any kind of physical challenge. I’ve always been frustrated that I can’t run a mile (or 1/4 for that matter!) but never really believd that this was an achievable goal. I’m now realizing that if I don’t believe I can do it, I’ll never find the strength to push myself to do it.

Tonight I pushed hard and increased from 9 run 1/walk 1's to 15 of them!  I'm starting to think that just maybe I can do this.  Thanks so much for all of your encouragement along the way.  You guys have been great!

I ran on the treadmill again tonight. (I’m aiming for every other day with running.) I increased from the 6 run one/walk one’s which I did last time to 9. It feels great to be making steady progress.