This week I officially started Couch to 5K. For those of you not familiar with the C25K program, the first week’s routine is a simple 5 minute warm-up walk, followed by alternating between 60 sec running, 90 sec walking (repeated 8 times), and then a 5 minute cool-down walk. This first day was definitely a challenge for me, an admittedly out of shape, overweight, asthmatic ginger. The second day proved easier, and by my third training day, Week 1’s routine provide rather easy. It was easy enough that I wanted to see just how long I could run at one time.
Now mind you, in athletics running is defined as a gait in which both feet are periodically off the ground at the same time. So by that definition, I don’t run fast, but I do run. Let’s take a quick jaunt back to high school days because who doesn’t love thinking about those Glory Days? Throughout school P.E. classes, I was always the kid who walked the mile and would have preferred to just opt out of it altogether. So while seeing how long I could run was going to be a physical challenge, it was more of a mental one, as is often the case with any physical feat. I weigh more than I did in high school by quite a bit, but I also know that I’m in better shape now than I was then, which is kind of sad considering just how out of shape I am currently. More to the point though, I knew I’d have to push through the mental barrier even harder than the physical one.
I did a 4 minute warm-up walk, mentally pep-talking myself the entire time, and once I saw 04:00 on the treadmill, I increased the speed and began my run. My legs were sore from the last few days of C25K combined with a few full-body workouts this past week. I knew I could make I had to make it to at least 2 minutes running or I’d have a difficult time with Week 2 of C25K. Getting to 2 minutes was easy enough, but I wanted to quit. I wanted to say, “You made it to your minimum goal, now have a rest.”
But I didn’t. I pushed through that mental block and made it to 3 minutes, then 4 minutes, and by 5 minutes my legs were really feeling the burn, and I thought I was physically done. I always hear runners say that they get to a point where everything in them is exhausted and feels like quitting, but somewhere deep down they find an extra burst of strength to push through that wall and keep going. Well today I must have found my inner runner because before I knew it, I had made it to 7 minutes straight of running. I ran a half mile in 7 minutes straight. I don’t think I’ve ever run a half mile in my life without stopping to walk. After a short walking break, I found it in me to run another 3 minutes and then walk some more. I’m tired. I’m sore. But I’m proud.
30 to Life 