.......to 5k runner......in 9 weeks. Yep, in just 9 short weeks I will be running a 5k like it's nothing. At least, short term, that's my goal. Call me crazy, tell me I can't do it, encourage me; but I CAN and I WILL do this - my mind is made up. Besides, if I can't devote 30 minutes 3 times a week to this, then my priorities aren't what they should be.
For any of you that know me, you know that I was always athletic in school. Enjoyed exercising, playing sports and all sorts of stuff. But like most people, the older I got, that harder it was for me to find time to keep in shape. No, I haven't "let myself go" by any means, I'm just not "in shape" like I used to be. There have been many times that I have told myself, "OK, you're going to start exercising at least 3 days a week so you can stay healthy" and I have never stuck to it.
So what's different this time around, you might ask. I'm 30.....and I come from a long line of health issues on both sides of my family. For that reason alone, I should be more than motivated to do something as simple as this. After a conversation with my sister-in-law (with 3 kids between the ages of 9 and 4 and who ran in the Chicago Marathon this past October) told me "I ran 6 miles today" I started thinking. "I wish I could enjoy running like that," I said to her. She then started to tell me about this program called Couch to 5k and encouraged me to google it to learn more about it. Once I typed it in the google search bar, I was more than shocked to see all of the results that came up.
Once I found the correct one, I obviously dove in to learn more about it. And even found out that "there's an app for that", for you iPhone, Android and Blackberry users. I downloaded the app, printed some information off and thought to myself "this is the first day of the rest of your HEALTHY life." Now, I realize that being healthy is more than just exercise, it's eating right and getting a good amount of sleep each night.
Couch to 5k is 30 minutes 3 days a week at your own pace. Something along the lines of "jog for 2 minutes walk for 2 minutes" to build up to just straight running. In the past, I would ALWAYS just set out and start running and then be very discouraged when I became out of breath rather quickly. It's a 9 week program that gives you a simple structure to follow to be comfortable and CONFIDENT to run a 5k, with no problems. The app I downloaded has a timer on it and a built in "personal trainer" to tell you when to switch from jogging to walking and so forth. It will also play my iTunes to keep me from thinking what was I thinking? and more on the task at hand.
This isn't a quest for me to lose a bunch of weight and become stick thin. I realize that I'm going to lose some weight but it's going to be a healthy weight loss, not drastic. I also realize that I'm not going to see results immediately like I would normally hope for and get discouraged for not seeing.
I'm going to keep a blog to remind myself where I started and how far I have gone in my journey. It is way past time that I do something about it and get healthy and in shape. Follow my journey, or JOIN me! :-)
To be continued.......
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