run 3 miles straight

I really am not running much at all (AT ALL!) But I got a dog and I take her for a good 30 minute walk almost every day now for 7 months!

i have always been a fat ass. annually in grade school we would have the one mile run in phys ed. i was always last. the trail in my local park is marked two miles. so i want to beat it by one.

include at least 5 minutes on the treadmill as part of my cardio.

My bigger goal: find a run/walk event to do this year.

Subgoal: meet at least once within the next six months with the Penguins, a slow/fun running group…

Until I get down about five pounds. Because I love my knees, and don’t want to wear them out. Meanwhile, it’s low impact cardio all the way….

which meant I could see the Empire State Building in all its glory…ah, I remember why I love running outside…

I’m sneaking up on the weight training. Just promised myself I’d get to one machine, and I got to two! Plus used the weighted ball.

Next, I’m going to check out the pool this month.

This is the reality.

My knees, like the rest of me, are middle-aged. And while I love myself exactly the way I am, at this weight, I can feel it when I pound the pavement or the treadmill.

So, for the next few weeks, it’s hard-core low impact, and Weight Watchers, and stretching. Because while I am thinner than I have been, I am not being nice to my knees by overtaxing them.

But the day will come!

It helps to have some music to run to, or if you have something on your mind, that helps too.

...that gets you to three straight miles in eight weeks. That sounds like a sane plan. I really miss running. I was a running fiend in my late 20s and early 30s. I ran with my sisters, I ran with my friends, I made running friends, I even had a running group called the Mel Torme tag team.

And I did train in run/walking two years ago when I did the NYC Triathlon. I was about 15 pounds heavier than I am now, and I barely evaded a heel spur.

I’m still not tiny now. But I think I can EASE back into being a 5K runner, with a nice blend of run/walking.

It’s sneaky, this middle age thing…I am trying to notice when I’m preventing myself from doing something because of my age. There’s no question that I’m stiffer than I used to be…but that’s also because I don’t do yoga anymore. And hey, I miss yoga, too!