week three

I started week three today and it went well. At the start of each week, I'm always surprised that I am able to bump it up to running a little more and walking a little less. I've also been alternating running in my neighborhood and on the treadmill at the gym. The difference surprised me at first, and I felt like running on real road was much harder, but as I have gotten used to it, and by logging my runs, I have found that I actually go a little faster in real ground, as apposed to set speeds on the treadmill. I guess this is good news, considering that my race is NOT on a treadmill :)

I've been thinking about how much I used to fear running. Not even long distance running, but just the idea of playing a game of tag at school (I teach Kindergarten) or running around with my friends made me nervous. I think that part of this year to love running is more than just for fitness and health, it's also for my well being. I used to be a pretty active person, but with age, time and pounds, I have become more hesitant to partake in more active activities. I'm hoping that with this 5K, comes some confidence. That if I can run 3 miles, I can certainly run around with my students on the playground, or with my friends in a game of barrel ball :) So, let's hope I can keep this up!

4 sessions in...

So, I decided this January, that this would be a year to find out if I can learn to love running. I have NEVER enjoyed running, even as a child. I have always been a water girl. Maybe it's the Aquarius in me, but swimming comes very naturally and I would always rather be in the water. I have recently become interested in doing a Triathlon Sprint, and the swimming should be good, the biking fine, and the running... well to be honest, it terrified me! So with the support of a dear friend, LK, who is an avid Triathlete, I decided that this would be my year to figure out if I could learn to at least tolerate the running piece.

So, with LK's guidance, I started on the treadmill. Walking. I used to be an elliptical kinda girl, but she explained to me, if you want to be a runner, you need to run. So, reluctantly, I got on the treadmill and began by just doing walking intervals three days a week. I registered for my first 5K in May in order to stay motivated and was feeling really good!

Then I hit tech week for the musical I am in and got sick and lost all of my momentum and really almost gave up. I thought about the charity I am running for, Mommy's Light, in West Chester and realized that this was something I really wanted to do. So I looked up the Couch Potato to 5K plan and made a commitment to make this happen.

So I've started my second week today and am feeling pretty good. I was worried last week because I didn't think I was ready to actually start jogging, but in the intervals, I actually felt better than I expected, especially since I ran in my neighborhood instead of on the treadmill like I usually do. Today I had to bump up the intervals and I feel like it went well. I'm slow, but really my goal is to be able to run the whole race without stopping, not to do it quickly, so I'm trying not to be so hard on myself.

Well, we'll see what next week holds!