start running on a regular basis again

I used to run 10k and half marathons then I hurt my knee and boom 2 years have past. I haven’t sorted out my knee problems (something to do wiht my foot arch) and haven’t run since hence I have piled on 2 stone. This downward spiral has to stop. The weight is perhaps a bit more to do with drinking beer and sweet cocktails, socialising, eating out more, getting older, desk based job…Argh excuses, excuses!

I am updating this goal to hiking on a regular basis.

I felt OK but I got that strange itching sensation I seem to always get after a hiatus from running. What is that? Toxins escaping in my perspiration? It doesn’t seem to happen once I’ve been running regularly for a while. Strangely, I don’t get this while biking.

According to this article, the itching is caused by my insufficient fitness. Who knew that a person who bikes an hour a day, 3-4 days a week, wasn’t sufficiently fit? I guess running is just a level up in exercise intensity from biking.

Looking back to when this goal was added, it’s clear that I have been deficient in running activity. And finally, for the past couple of months, I have slowly gotten back into it. It mostly happens in the morning (think 1-2 am, since my gym is open 24 hours) or even later in the morning (think 6 am-ish) even though I am not a morning person, but do it anyway because it’s easier for me to get it done then. Oh and weekends at the beach.

Baby on the way… I have no energy to run. Nor do I think the baby will enjoy being jostled up and down.

With one day off every week, that means I’m running two or three days a week. I don’t believe in running for more than a half an hour at a time. Right now I’m doing a fifteen minute short course over the sidewalks of Potrero Hill. I might bump it up to twenty some time soon.

Between final exams, frosty weather, holidays and illness, I fell off the running wagon. Need to get back on in the worst way!

Someone told me it takes 21 days to form a habit. I think I’ll try this with running. I don’t think I should be too ambitious, with school about to start and all, so I should run 10 miles a week, about 2 miles a day, and then see where I stand in 3 weeks.

Reasons for running:

• Helps clear my mind
• Builds confidence
• Seems to cure my stress and anxiety
• Makes me feel happy for about 3 hours afterwards

Reasons I might not keep up with it:

• School might get in the way
• I might discover more fun things to do at night
• Running alone is very boring
• Sometimes I just don’t feel like it
• I might get mugged ;)

Ahh, even a couple of weeks into this I’m already looking and feeling better. I’m past the hard part…now I just need to push myself to keep going. Maybe I should get a running partner.

But I still want to run. What this means is getting a treadmill or joining a gym. I’m torn between my basic need to be frugal and my desire to run in an acceptable temperature. I was in Seattle last month and went running everyday in the morning. I really need to move somewhere cooler.