Friday, April 2, 2010

I Hate Running: Log 1 - Just Do It!

I have been such a bloggy slacker the past few days. I started this post on Friday and somehow, haven't gotten around to finishing it until now. I blame it on the long weekend - and my awesome family for being so lovely and making me want to do nothing but spend time with them <3

Any how, as noted in last Tuesday's post, I started running and decided to keep a weekly log. It will be mainly to keep myself accountable, but I think it will also be great to look back in a couple months and see how far I've come. This week, I'm a tad late, but in the future, I'll be aiming to get this post up by Saturday (one of my "off" days). This initial post will also be a bit more lengthy than future posts, so you're off the hook if you don't feel like reading the whole thing ;)

Goals

I'm a notoriously bad goal setter, but I've realized I'm better at sticking to them when I don't look too far afield. For example, my ultimate and (very) long term goal for running is to run a marathon.

However, if this were my only goal, I probably would have given up already. So, I've broken it to little goal-ettes to help get me there:

1. Follow a hybrid of the 8 and 24 week plans from the book Beginning Running and be able to run for 30 minutes straight in about 16 weeks.

2. Run a 5K

3. Participate in the Broad Street Run (10 miles; either in 2011 or 2012)

4. Train for, and run, a half marathon

5. Train for, and run, a full marathon

I haven't established a time frame for goals 2, 4 and 5 yet, but once I figure that out, I'll post something.

I should also note, I did not start running just because I would like to run a marathon. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that my ultimate goal is get active and be healthy. I'm a huge exercise-phobe, but I also spend a ton of time complaining about how out of shape I am. So, I decided it was finally time to do something about it. I also owe a huge thanks to my good friend Amy because she made me realize that running is not as evil as I thought.

On the contrary, I've really been enjoying it thus far. I think a big part of that is because I now understand that I cannot go from 0 to 60 in a hot second. When I've tried running in the past, I would just run out of my front door, barely make it around the block, and declare myself a failure. But, our bodies were not designed to go from sedentary to marathon ready (or even mile-run-ready) over-night. Breaking it down into gradual steps makes running for any length of seem much more realistic.

Which brings me too:

Workout for Week 1

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: Warm up - Brisk walk for two minutes. Workout - Run for one minute, walk for two minutes - repeat 10 times (or 30 minutes total). Cool down - walk for 2 -5 minutes. Stretch before and after.

Tuesday and Thursday: Light walk or hike for at least 30 minutes.

I have to admit Tuesday I did nothing physical. Although, I did chat about running for a long while with Amy (that's got to count for something, right?). But, other than that, I kicked week one's butt!

Biggest /Win for the Week

I could say that my biggest accomplishment this week was conquering the hills that plaque the neighborhood around my apartment complex. Or, I could say that it was bringing my running clothes to work last Wednesday and going out to run before the meeting that I had to stay late for. I could even say that my biggest accomplishment was when I fell in the mud an scarped my knee, but got up and kept going because I was only half-way done.


But, none of that would have happened if I didn't make the ultimate decision to get off my big 'ole butt and run in the first place.

Therefore, my biggest /win this week is actually getting up and running. There are so many reasons to not run, but I've finally exhausted all my excuses and made the decision to find the reasons to run. And for that, I feel pretty darn proud of myself.



4 comments:

JMJE said...

I also hate running but occasionally attempt to do it. I want to run a 5k one day. I'm pretty sure I never ever want to run a marathon though. My key is just to go really slow when I jog and then I'm able to go for longer.

That Girl said...

I'm going to the gym after work today to start my new gym goals!

Leah said...

Ack, I need to just do it. My week one included one pitiful jog. Must do couch potato to 5k.

Maybe we can 1/2 or whole marathon train together someday...with the goal being to run in the WDW Marathon! They also have a Princess 1/2 Marathon & a Tower of Terror 13k...so many options!

Unknown said...

Good for you! I SO want to get back to running again... one thing at a time... Have a great weekend :)