Becoming a Runner??

Long time, no talk.

I still haven't touched my camera. We've been meaning to get out and do a few things for a few weeks, but either the weather or our laziness keeps spoiling our plans. So lately Jeff and I have been working and watching lots of movies.

And working out!

Today, I started the Couch to 5K Running Program. This is my second attempt. My first had a couple problems. I repeatedly ran outside on the unforgiving concrete, which is so not good on my troublesome feet. I ran in old shoes, with not enough support for my troublesome feet. I didn't do many other workouts in addition, so all I was really doing was running. My muscles were being worked in one and only one way, I got burnt out and bored pretty quickly, and when it started to hurt, I just stopped.

That was over a year ago.

Today I started over. With new shoes, on a treadmill. I'm not going to focus exclusively on running each week. I'll aim for 2-3 days of running, mixed in with 2-3 other activities, whether that be weights or other forms of cardio. I'm not as concerned with following the program week by week as just progressing at the pace I'm comfortable with. I'm going to try to push my feet to adjust to running without injuring them, which is a balancing act that will prove challenging.

But Day 1 was pretty good. It was hot in the cardio room, so I was sweating bullets. I jogged nice and slow so my legs/feet don't cause problems tomorrow. It felt good to be jogging a little.

Someday I'd like to be able to call myself a runner. Living on a military base with all these active people around me makes me want to try. They have 5k runs nearly every other month, so it wouldn't be hard to train for and run one. I just have to get there. So for now I'm taking it slow and focusing on one day at a time.

One good thing that's come out of my injured feet is that I know my limits. I know when something hurts too much to continue, and when it's better to "push through the pain". There's a definite difference between fatiguing a muscle and real muscle pain, and I'm glad I learned that difference early.


Not much else going on around here. I haven't been cooking much since I started working. We've been living on easy meals and takeout. Our apartment is usually a disaster area, with only the couch cleared for relaxing. Oh well, as long as we're still eating, right?