Gettin' Skinny Friday ~ Easing Into Running

 

I am not a good runner. Really. I pretty much suck at it. I can’t keep pace very well and either go too fast and tire quickly OR I go so slow I figure I should just walk. I can totally rock an elliptical though! I can go for at least an hour… complete most of the built in programs that are on it AND I can even kinda sorta dance while I’m “running” on it. (Luckily I workout at home so no one can see me twitching around on the elliptical!)

But – I miss running!! When I was little I ran everywhere. I didn’t even think about it! I just went. I was tall, I had legs that were meant for running. And that’s what I did. I remember in 5th grade there was only ONE boy who could beat me in a race. Oh how I wanted to fly by him!! But it never happened. And of course he was the cutest boy in the whole 5th grade. Seriously, that boy is probably a pro athlete or a model by now.

Then I entered the 7th grade and was stuck with a crappy gym teacher who sucked ALL the fun out of running. And 8th grade wasn’t any better. That’s when I really just started hating running. I just got slower and slower until I just refused to do it at all.

However… I still remember how much I loved running. The wind in my hair… nothing but the sound of my feet hitting the ground…

That’s why right now, at the age of thirty something, with gray hairs starting to make an appearance (bastards!!) and wrinkles definitely making their presence known (those are bastards too!!) I am going to start training for a 5K!!

See, my 11 yr old son has signed up to play football at the end of the summer. And honestly… he isn’t the best runner. He has actually never been a fan of running. But he wants to play football! So the condition was that he had to train and get in shape this summer. He’s kinda getting a little pudgy. Which I know a lot of pre teens go through a pudgy phase. No big deal. But he wants to be in shape, he wants to be a better runner…. He just wishes there was a magic potion to make him a better runner! Ha! Don’t we all??

So, the kid and I have started doing the Couch to 5K Program! I found the program at Coolrunning.com and I really like how it VERY slowly gets you into running. I’m going to do the program a little bit different… The website says to just do the routine about 3 times a week. But we are going to do it everyday. The first week is only 20 minutes at a time. That’s really not that hard. You only run for a minute then you walk for a couple minutes… and repeat. I’m planning on doing Week 1’s routine every day for a week and then move on to Week 2’s routine. There’s even an app for my Droid that has all the workouts on it. And it tells you when to run and when to walk! That makes it SO much easier than carrying a stop watch and having to remember the routine.

We’ve only done 2 workouts so far, and I can tell that my kid isn’t exactly feeling the “runners high” yet… But we’ll get there! As for me, these first couple of days haven’t been that hard. I’m excited to complete the program! And I’m hoping that my son will fall in love with running. I just think it would be awesome to enter a 5K with him.

I’ll be keeping you updated with our progress! All the ups and downs of becoming a runner. All the whining and complaining, and hopefully all of our triumphs too! By the end of the summer I hope that my son and I will be totally rocking the 5K!

Look! I even got a new T-shirt to keep me motivated!! I LOVE it!