Couch to 5k

Last week there was a brief break in this unbearable winter weather. I hate the cold..my hands are dry, I have static electricity, I rarely wear lipstick because I'm too busy bathing in chap stick and there's snow, ice, and slush which really limits the fashionable footwear unless you have a personal chauffeur dropping you off everywhere you go.

I also hate winter because it's too cold outside to do anything and I become a bona fide gym rat. I do enjoy working out and taking classes at the gym but something else I got into a few years ago...running. 

I was never a runner before. I was a fat awkward kid in elementary school and unfortunately carried that on throughout all my years in any educational institute I attended. But, even though I was the fat kid, I was athletic. I played 3 sports in high school, intramurals in college...but don't get me wrong, never did you see me whizzing around the track or running for fun. I hated it. I could eek out the 1 mile run for the fitness tests in gym class but the 1 mile mark was my cut off. So, a couple years ago I set a goal: to run a 5k. A lot of our friends would get together and participate in local races and I never wanted to admit that I couldn't do it because there was no way I could run for 3.2 miles and I didn't want to resort being the walker of the bunch.

A great program I used was the Couch to 5k program on www.coolrunning.com. It slowly trains you to run your first 5k mostly through interval work..run 1 minute, walk 5 minutes, and builds you up until you hit around the 30 minute mark. An even bigger bonus...I found a podcast on Itunes that was free. It was some guy who mapped out the whole program to music. Every interval was timed for you and he told you when to start and stop running. This was key especially if I wasn't trying to run on a treadmill watching the seconds tick by ever so slowly thinking to myself I have totally been running for way more than 4 minutes.

Here's a picture of me in one of my first races.

Now that February is coming to an end (hoo-rah!) the first 5k is around the corner in mid-March. I've run here and there at the gym but have started to kick it into high gear. Well, what I consider high gear. Although I reached my goal a couple years ago and ran the 5k and have continued to do so every year after, I am not a fast runner..but at least I finish. I dusted off the Ipod and turned the TV on my treadmill at the gym off and started up with the podcast and Couch to 5k program.

It's not too late to get yourself moving! One thing that amazed me...once I started to shed the pounds and started losing weight a few years ago, I had this yearning and desire to get fit. I might sound like a crazy lady, but I really enjoy exercising. Half the battle is just getting my butt to the gym, but never once have I walked out of a workout or class there and not feel good about what I just did for myself. It's one thing to eat healthy, but it's another to keep your body in shape. When the two meet, it's a great thing and you'll never feel better. Just find something that works for you. If you're not a runner, never run before...you have to start somewhere. Challenge yourself, set a goal, and try and achieve it.

if you're interested in the Couch to 5K...here's the Link