Lamppostings

This will be my third attempt at the Couch to 5K program. The first time I was derailed by bursitis in both knees, the second time I was derailed by a winter full of sickness. You can read about my previous attempts here.  I’m trying to keep my blogging presence more simplified, so I am including my running challenge in this blog. I will include here, what I wrote when I first started the program because it still holds true.

My Dreams
I admit that I have often mocked runners. I agreed with a quote that I read – “The first time I see a jogger smiling, I’ll consider it.” – Joan Rivers
Running just doesn’t look like much fun. However, it does seem pretty convenient & there is something that seems pretty cool & hardcore about it. I have always been a bit jealous.
When I was a child I loved to run – not in a fitness kind of way, I just loved to run. In school, I liked to run too. I was really good at sprints – it was fast, fun & I won. However, when we had to run around the school block 12 times, it didn’t seem as fun – distances were harder for me.
As I moved from elementary school to junior high – I quit participating in track. I kind of regret that now. But it is what it is. My body changed & I began to feel like I wasn’t meant to run. I love participating in sports, but running was pretty much off the agenda.
I tried running again after I finished high school, but it was a short-lived endeavour – we’re talking only a time or two.
Since then, I’ve done lots of different types of exercise – I actually really love to exercise, especially once I get started. I love doing elliptical machines because of the low impact. So that was that.
I’m not unfit, but with two babies under my belt, as it were, I’m sure not where I want to be.
And then there are the dreams. Not all the time, but sometimes, I have these dreams where I am just running. Lots of other stuff going on, but I’m running & I feel good & I feel confident & I feel like I could just keep running. I love how those dreams feel. I want to feel that in real life.
So with that all said, I’ve started a nine-week Couch to 5K program. It’s taken some schedule juggling so that I do it at a time that will consistently work for me, when the kids will be looked after & in a way that Colin & I both get all our usual stuff done. I know that it will be hard, especially at the beginning, so I am committing to the whole 9 weeks. I want to see if, in fact, I am a runner. I need to get to a place where I can run a distance consistently & then see if I am enjoying it.
If, at the end of 9 weeks, I don’t enjoy it, then it will have been a grand experiment & I will be grateful to have done it & I will move on. But who knows, maybe I am a runner.

Week 1
I did it! Up & at it so very early in the morning. It really is the only way I can make it work, it’s worth it. I actually love early mornings as long as I get some decent sleep the night before. The times I’ve been up & running in the past it has been mid-Winter – pitch dark, ice & snow on the ground. This has been a different experience. It’s nice to run in daylight, though I feel very exposed. It takes less time to get out the door when I don’t have to put on a jacket, hat, gloves & Yak Trax. I’m not worried about slipping on ice!

At the start of the program it’s hard to imagine that in a few weeks, I’ll be running for any amount of time greater than a minute at a time. I’ve seen the progression though, so I know it can be done. I’m excited. I also don’t want to get injured or sick again, & I really don’t want to fail this time.