Friday, September 3, 2010

From Runner to Slacker and Back Again

I've been running almost a year now. I started in October of last year after Toby ran the Louisville Marathon and Jeane and I decided we wanted to do a marathon. She was 7 months pregnant at the time, so thought 2011 would be the year. Then we decided that maybe we'd do a half marathon instead. After that conversation, I started the Couch Potato to 5K program. However, I didn't feel like a runner until sometime this summer. There are lots of ways to define being a runner, but I decided I was a runner when I started liking running. I'm really slow and can't run long distances (yet), but I am a runner.

This week, I have been an exercise slacker. I probably was too tired to exercise Monday, but I continued to use that excuse Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings. I slept instead of getting up and going to the gym and I had commitments every evening this week, so I couldn't make it up then. In the past, this would have led to me taking a few more weeks off from exercise and being really sore when I resumed, so it would take me awhile to get back on schedule. But today, I went running. It was a lovely morning and I ran for 25 minutes covering 2 miles, which is my usual pace. I told you I'm slow. Now, I'm a runner again. I'm not going to let myself go down the "I used to be a runner" path.

My future plans for running including building stamina by running for time rather than distance. I'd like to be able to run 5 miles in 60 minutes with no walk breaks. I know I don't have to be able to do this to be a runner, but it seems like a nice goal for me. Then I will return to working on distance running, probably using the run/walk method. I know a lot of people are happy it's almost fall and I'm thrilled it's football season, but I'm going to miss the heat and the early sunrises. My next planned purchase is a reflective vest so I can still go for early morning runs.

3 comments:

XichthusX said...

You can do it!!! Keep up the great work sister.

mommabear said...

What is from couch potato to runner? Sounds interesting and like something I might want to look in to eventually.

Elizabeth said...

Couch Potato to 5K is beginning running program. Here's the link http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml. I only followed it up to week 4 or 5, than did my own think for running/walking. Usually I would run 1 mile than walk 0.25 miles. I only recently started running more than 1 mile.