As you can probably imagine, my 3x/week, 3-mile trail running routine promptly came to a halt in June when I moved cross country. Sigh.
To get back into shape, I thought I’d start with the couch-to-5K plan, somewhere in the middle (I didn’t think I was exactly at couch-level), with the goal of training for a 5K — my first ever — early this fall. I choose week 5, which is half-mile jogs interspersed with quarter-mile walks. I went out today to start, and found it was a breeze to jog for about a mile and a half through town (up hills!), before I took a little walking break for five minutes (prompted by Bix needing to sniff some other dog’s butt), then jogged again for about a mile.
I was so happy that I hadn’t completely lost my stamina.
Now I’m thinking that if I can happily run the 5K in 30 minutes or less, I’ll train for a 10K in the late fall. I have this inexplicable feeling that I would like distance running. This is really weird coming from someone who loathed PE and could barely finish a mile in under 15 minutes in school. (I run a 10 minute mile now, but I am hoping to improve.)
Anyway, I will probably be updating with progress. Because I need some goals. Goals that aren’t seeing how fast I can run on a treadmill before knocking my teeth out.
Thanks for writing about this. I think I am exactly the same way about working out…I never really liked PE…but Kyle got me on this path to healthy living and I find myself really liking the idea. I quit cigarettes a year ago. I also eat better (mostly, because he cooks) and have been working out…not much, just a little. But it’s been enough to help me FEEL how much better it is when you ARE physically active. Thank’s for the virtual kick-in-the-butt. I am totally going out for a run after I finish posting this comment.
a 10k has been my longstanding goal but since I finished grad school I simply don’t have the time to run for like an hour anymore! And now with working at the museum too I can barely manage to get in my 3 mile 3x a week regimen. Sigh, so forge on, cool runner! regardless of my slacking routine I’m well beyond my high school PE test levels where I would *walk* the mile. Last summer I went home and ran 3 miles on the track behind my old high school just to exo(e)rcise old torturous memories!
I got Shirley that Nike chip dealie-o for her iPod (you don’t need Nikes to use it if you get the little $5 pouch that attaches to your shoe), and now she wants to run another marathon. If you’re looking for motivation, it seemed to do the trick for her. I have to admit that it’s pretty cool–you can even pick a “power song” and see how your performance increases while it’s playing. Heh.
Not that I’d endorse running a marathon. Just being her boyfriend during all that training was exhausting.